


Ablution

by velvet_sometimes



Category: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi | Spirited Away
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Ending, Caves, Complete, Drabble Collection, Drabbles, F/M, Gods, Grief/Mourning, Grown Up Characters, Magic, Minor Canonical Character(s), Ocean, Original Character(s), Painting, Post canon, Romance, Spirit World, Studio Ghibli, Supernatural Elements, Trials, mentions of a corpse, mild cross over with other studio ghibli movies, themed chapters, traveling between worlds, working for your dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-24
Updated: 2014-06-01
Packaged: 2017-12-24 13:21:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/940472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvet_sometimes/pseuds/velvet_sometimes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some memories never leave us behind, and the bonds forged between a child and a River God retain remembered strength in paint and dreams. Hope rides the thin edge of a weathered sea shell and the cleansing sting of the ocean spray...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Drabbles 1-20

**Author's Note:**

> Ablution - A ceremonial act of washing parts of the body or sacred containers.

Chapter One

Vibration

It wasn't often that Chihiro got a moment to herself to really think about her adventures in the Spirit World. She had devoted her youth to pretending they had never happened, and that they were just some horrible, crazy dream brought on by the bacon cheese burger she'd consumed before they had set out the morning they'd moved. Her teenage years were spent trying to desperately reclaim the magic she once had in abundance but that seemed to be absent in her current life.

Now she spent her days painting, illustrating every moment she could remember and hoping that somehow, if she made the images real enough, she would tap into that thrumming magic again and unlock the vibration in her soul she felt every time she she walked by a shrine or though a gate.

And she was close, so very close. The very air hummed in the twilight around her, shifting restlessly against her skin and waiting for something.

\-----

Chapter Two

Distraction

It was a beautiful piece, this image of her dragon. Kohaku was always what her fingers created when she gave them free reign of her canvas. He was her distraction and her inspiration all at once, and she had hundreds of illustrations of his likeness hung around her studio.

Images of his flowing mane and watery scales.

Studies of his eyes and their unique shade of green that she had never seen matched on another.

And his hands, always his hands.

They fascinated her to no end. The way they felt, looked, moved; she ached to watch them again and the inhuman grace with which he wielded the appendages. He moved like water, calm and steady and unpredictable; he moved in ways no ten year old boy should know how.

And as her own hands moved over the canvas she tried to capture some of that difference, some of that effortless elegance.

\-----

Chapter Three

Continuation

Sighing Chihiro set down her paintbrush made her way to the window of her studio. She leaned against the sill to stare out at the reflection of stars beginning to twinkle in the twilight sky against the ocean as the first tendrils of night overtook the landscape.

She always felt wistful when she finished another piece, restless and strange, almost possessed in her need to submerse herself in water and swim until exhaustion overtook her. A continuation of their first meeting she assumed; some primal need to recreate that fateful day, so that it was real in her mind for that much longer.

That urge had her pulling her dress over her head, heedless of paint covered fingers which smeared a rainbow of colors across her bare skin, crawling out of the window to sprint down to the water.

She needed to feel the caress of the water against her skin again, needed to feel the only thing she had left to remember him by.

\-----

Chapter Four

Rendition

She knew, as she sliced though the surface of the water, that she was trying to recreate the emotion she'd felt with him, the emotion she hadn't been able to feel since her departure from the Spirit World. She never denied missing with him with such a passion that it burned her, she'd just never spoken the words aloud. Her rendition was merely a poor replica of what once was, though, and she knew that too.

She was in love with a river, and her river didn't flow though this world anymore. He was a ghost on the other side; a guardian spirit with nothing to preside over. Just as she was a painter with an image she couldn't make real.

The water was shockingly warm in the waning half light, as if still trying to hold onto the heat from the sun even though it had disappeared from the sky, and she relished the feeling as it flowed over her skin. It moved around her in a mockery of a caress as she swam, running across her flesh like a lover's hands. Embracing. Consuming. Real.

\-----

Chapter Five

Fruition

Chihiro lazily explored the depths of her ocean cove, relearning every reef and cave by touch in the failing light, the darkness having altered the lines with which she was so familiar.

Something about this place had called to her when she was just a girl, the land having been passed down though the hands of her family for generations. Her adoration of the spot had sprung into fruition when her grandmother finally had passed into the next life. The house on the cliff and the secret cove she had spent her summers hiding from the world in was in turn left to her to care for.

She was the only person to have swam in these waters for generations, the only who wasn't afraid of the spirit that was said to resided here. His wrath had sunk a her ancestors ship, sparing no one save a single, pregnant woman, her lover lost to the sea.

And this lack of fear was not for any disbelief of his existence. She had no doubts he watched her as she leisurely traversed his watery domain, she had walked with spirits before and she knew what it felt like to be forgotten.

\-----

Chapter Six

Preparation

Chihiro broke the surface of the water, pushing her hair from her face and breathing deep the ocean air in preparation for a deeper dive.

Something about the chill night air as she swam reminded her of what else lurked just below the surface. How even though she was solitary in her actions, she wasn't alone. It was thrilling really, every time she felt the brush of scales flit past her in the darkness.

She knew it was him, the god that ruled this place. He liked to remind her sometimes that he was there, watching her movements like an indulgent parent.

When she was a child she had felt a chill go up her spine every time she had approached these dark waters, that is, until in a fit of hormonal teenage rage that craved a refreshing swim in their depths, had screamed at him. Pleaded with him. Acknowledged him.

Would you seriously just stop with the 'oh look at me, look at me! I'm a great and powerful Ocean God' already? You don't scare me. I've worked in Yubaba's bathhouse and I've gone toe to toe with Spirits far more scary than you are, so its really starting to get on my nerves. Why don't you pay her a visit and have her take out that stick you seem to have lodged up your ass? Tell her San sent you for a bath. You'll feel better afterward, I promise.

\-----

Chapter Seven

Resolution

The resolution of the matter proved to be his actually listening to her, whoever he really was. She had expected for a great wave to rise up and swallow her whole the moment she'd spoken to him like that, and by all appearances one looked to be coming for her. But then she whispered Twenty-One precise little words, and her gods entire demeanor changed; a sadness washing over the beach.

And when you do, please, if you see the Kohaku River, tell him Chihiro misses him. Tell him I miss him.

For three days, her cove had been impossible to enter; a storm had settled right on top of her and refused to budge, sending massive swells to crash against the cliff and send her house rattling. She knew it meant the god had gone from this place, sending it into chaos to prevent her entrance during his absence.

She didn't mind, she knew he would return. And when he did there was a calmness in the waters, an invitation that had never existed before, and an almost pleading tone to the wind as it gently pushed her toward the waves.

Chihiro made sure visit him every day after the change, swimming out to one of the large rocks that jutted out from the surf to keep him company, telling him any inane thing came to mind as she spent hour upon hour speaking with a spirit she knew would never answer her.

And that was how she made herself a space in the heart of yet another god.

\-----

Chapter Eight

Revolution

She then dived back into the water, making her way steadily toward the ocean floor in the darkness, using the wall of the cove as a guide. This was always her favorite part of swimming with her god, making her way to the bottom. She liked to release the air from her lungs and sit there in the sand, letting the underwater world move around her uninterrupted. It was her personal sort of rebellion against life, a revolution is you will, a chance to see what the world would be like if you weren't there.

It was so peaceful, so pure. And if she held on just long enough, she could feel him, wrapping around her in long, scaled coils, urging her to swim.

She'd opened her eyes the first time she had felt it, but saw nothing more than sunlight shimmering on the water, even though she could feel the solid warmth of his form around her. She'd allowed him to ferry her to the surface that time, relishing the feeling of his mane between her fingers. It felt like sea weed though there was nothing in her hands.

So she didn't fear when she felt his long snake-like body curling around her again, head bumping against her legs to get her moving. She merely ran fingers across she silky smoothness of him for a moment before giving a sharp kick of her feet that propelled her toward the air.

\-----

Chapter Nine

Exception

Once taking a much needed breath of air Chihiro made her way toward the closest rock jutting out of the water and clambered on, uncaring of her nudity. Her god had no use for modesty, after all, and the ocean breeze felt delicious against her skin.

She had something to tell him and she knew he would listen without question, she was his exception after all, the only mortal, or however close she still was to that term, who was safe in his waters.

"You know today is the 18th anniversary of the day I was spirited away to Yubaba's Bathhouse? That was the day I met the Kohaku River for the second time in my life. I was 10 years old," She moved to dip her toes in the now chilled water absently, watching as the tiny waves lapped over her flesh ever so gently. "I still remember it like it was yesterday. I still remember him like it was yesterday."

At that admission she sighed, closing her eyes and tilting her head back to face the sky. "I know I can never have him back. I know this. I really do. They built over his river. But that doesn't stop me from wishing he was here." In the darkness of her closed eyes, she thought she felt a hand come to rest over them, pressing into the tears she refused to admit she was shedding. "I painted him again today," she whispered to the water. She felt warm lips press against her forehead in comfort before the entire feel of him was gone, leaving nothing but the warmth of the wind.

\-----

Chapter Ten

Communication

When she opened her eyes again, she had to blink a couple of times to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

He was there. Her nameless god. She'd never seen his face before, but she could recognize him anywhere, and the look of sadness in his turbulent eyes spoke of a kindred understanding she knew was as great as her own loss. It was a look she'd never wanted to see in this young boy's eyes.

Even though they were not a young boy's eyes, those eyes were set in the face of a child, but they held centuries of memories she could only hazard a guess at.

If this was his way of letting her know he was ready for some communication between them, then she most assuredly took his hint.

"I fell in love with your great, great grandmother when she was but a child who spent her days swimming through my waters. And I thought to claim her for my own by removing her lover from this world. Foolish, I know. She never forgave me for that, and for a time I thought her hatred was the most painful thing I've ever endured. I was wrong. It was her despair that destroyed me more than I thought possible."

\-----

Chapter Eleven

Imagination

It didn't take much imagination after that admission to understand why his waters were so untouchable, and as she went to speak to him words of comfort, he continued, shaking head to stop her from speaking, and sending his sea-foam hair into disarray.

"I allowed her to hate me, I made her; because it forced her to feel. To acknowledge me. And I think that was the second cruelest thing I could have done to her. I never allowed her, or anyone else, to again touch my waters, and she was forced to live out the remainder of her days knowing her lover's murder was just outside the door. And that he did it out of love."

The small boy moved to sit beside her on the rock, looking so purely innocent as he stared pensively out at the bay, even in the face of his words.

"What's your name?" Chihiro asked softly, and those ageless black eyes slowly turned toward her again, before sliding back to the water they seemed to mirror.

"I am the Nameless; merely The Cove." His voice was devoid of emotion as he answered her, sitting in silence for a moment before then gesturing with one delicately clawed hand toward the waves beneath their feet. "His ship still sits down there; untouched by time. Bring to me the necklace that is still seated around his neck; she made it from shells plucked from my own shores, hoping I would protect him. For that I will help you reclaim your love from the spirit world."

\-----

Chapter Twelve

Flirtation

Reading the question in her eyes, he spoke. "I cannot raise the trinket from the depths. I have power over the sea, yes, but no control. Should I try, I would dislodge the entire vessel from the ocean floor and my children call its hull their home now. It seems most fitting that it should be her decedent that reclaims it for me, do you not think?"

Chihiro nodded softly. "I'll bring it back to you, I promise." With that she moved to jump into the water, but a small hand grasped her arm and spun her to face him, surprise written across his face.

"Wait until light. There are more dangers than the fish in the darkness below. Should you get trapped inside, I'll not be able to rescue you. I cannot step foot on any structure not of the earth and his ship the only place in my domain that I cannot protect you."

Her eyes turned toward the shadowy water again. This mission seemed to be an exercise in flirtation with danger, but she couldn't refuse his offer. Couldn't refuse the sadness in his eyes which mirrored her own so perfectly.

Slowly, she nodded. "I'll return in the morning, and I'll bring you back the necklace. I swear."

\-----

Chapter Thirteen

Expression

His expression softened then, and he looked at her with such a tenderness that it made her heart ache, tracing clawed fingertips down her cheek gently so as not to scratch the tender flesh. "You look like her you know, my Yumi." And with that, he slipped off their rock and disappeared into the depths with a flash of silvery scales, leaving her to contemplate the exchange in the fractured silence of the night.

It wasn't long after that the comforting embrace of the wind took on the chilling bite of darkness and forced her to leap back into the water and swim for shore.

She wasn't sure why, but the little girl in her ached for his approval, to do something to earn that approval. Maybe it was the obvious age she saw in his eyes, or that he was somehow the grandfather she'd never had, in a roundabout way.

But whatever the reason, she decided as she made her way up the beach, she was going to make him proud of her. She'd walked among the spirits and passed Yubaba's test; she could recover the necklace.

\-----

Chapter Fourteen

Collision

By the time Chihiro finally made it to her house on the cliff she felt as if she'd been in a collision with a dump truck. Her hair smelled of salt and seaweed, her skin finely dusted with grains of sand, and exhaustion clearly written on her face from the emotional run in with the nameless cove god.

It was all she could do to shuffle under the spray of her shower and scrub the worst of the grime off before collapsing into bed without bothering to dry herself. It wasn't as if it was the first time her sheets had suffered this sort of abuse; she could usually be found in such a state after finishing a painting of him. That it was their anniversary only added to the fact, and as per usual, it didn't take her too long to fall into a fit of restless, fractured sleep.

Ever since her adventures at the bath house, it was all she dreamed about – the spirit world, that is. And he was always there, on the edges of her awareness, just beyond her sight. For her to reach for him always meant waking up, and she wasn't ready for that just yet. She wanted to saver his image for a few moments longer.

He was far away for now, but not for long. She was going to win him back. She had to.

\-----

Chapter Fifteen

Vindication

There was a sort of vindication that came with the knowledge that she could right the wrong her cove god had unwittingly created. For some reason, by retrieving her great great grandmother's necklace, she felt as if she was fixing something that had been broken.

And maybe, just maybe, she could fix him too. Because he looked so broken, and the sadness that laced his every action wounded her soul.

That was the curse though, of a god falling in love with a mortal. She and her River would have to face the same trial one day, and she didn't know what they would do when that day came. A god was not meant to be human, and they could not be judged by any sort of mortal moral code. The Cove had only done what came natural to the ocean; use his power to claim what was his. And by doing so, he lost the one thing he'd always wanted.

\-----

Chapter Sixteen

Condensation

There was something about the way light played off the condensation on leaves in the early morning that inspired Chihiro to just sit beside her window and stare out at the world as the sun slowly rose to its place in the sky.

No matter what was happening, it always served to relax her -infuse her with a level of calm she found from nothing else. And it was with that calm that she prepared herself for what she was to do today.

She was to dive down into the depths of her cove, find a sunken ship and subsequently her great great grandfather's skeleton, remove an antique necklace from his person, and present it to the god who had taken his life in the first place so that she might bring back the one person she cared for more than any other.

All in the name of love. His love and her own.

That man who shared her blood was a lost soul down there in the depths of the ocean, and she had to bring a piece of him back, he deserved that much from her at least.

\-----

Chapter Seventeen

Perfection

The cove was a picture of perfection as Chihiro and her small boat made their way out onto the water, slowly rowing towards the mouth and into the bay that was calm and clear and serene. She knew it was his doing.

She could see him there -her nameless god- standing on the cliff in his little wooden sandals, watching her as she anchored her boat to a rock and prepared to leap into the waves. He was counting on her.

Taking one last deep breath of air, she dived, letting the water consume her and searching the ocean floor for the fishing boat she knew must be there.

And it didn't take her long to find, as she twisted around to explore the new reaches and crevasses the opening into the bay created, she spotted it there. With a reef growing though the side of its hull and various sea creatures lazily resting around it; it was unmistakably the ship she'd be searching for. She knew it was, even without seeing the skeleton on the bow, leg caught in a net to holding him to the wreck.

\-----

Chapter Eighteen

Determination

Chihiro held her position for a moment, treading water as she considered her options. She could make it down to the wreck with her remaining air, but should the necklace prove hard to find, she wouldn't be able to make it to the surface in time.

She stared down at her prize for a moment longer, watching an eel as it twisted and corkscrewed though holes in the wooden structure, before swiftly swimming towards it with a determination she didn't know she still possessed.

As she approached, she could feel her lungs screaming in protest from the lack of air, but she deftly ignored the warning. She had to at least see what she was getting into, inspect it, before making her way to the surface for a new breath of air.

The eel she had been watching came to rub around her legs like a contented cat, and she ran fingertips over its glossy body before kicking her way back up to where the water and the sky met.

\-----

Chapter Nineteen

Destruction

He was standing on the water as if it was solid ground, looking down at her curiously as she took a few deep breaths.

"I had to locate the wreck first; ran out of air right as I got down to it, but I'm looking. I'll find it for you in the destruction, don't worry." And with that she was diving deep into the waves again, fighting against the current as she made her way steadily down to the ocean floor and skirting up around the side of the wreck.

Her fingers danced over wooden hull, following its edges and she tried to steady herself in the water. Swimming deftly though a hole in the hull and hooking a leg though it to anchor herself to the ship, she began to methodically inspect the skeleton of her ancestor.

The image of his bones floating in the water, and the knowledge that his spirit was forever lost to the waves made her sad; she'd never known the man and his remains had rested here for more than a hundred years, but that didn't make the ache go away.

And as her fingertips gently ghosted over his skull, she spotted what she'd come here for.

\-----

Chapter Twenty

Elation

Nothing could compare to the elation she felt when her eyes spotted the shell necklace resting against his breast bone. It was beautiful; thick twine knotted to create a delicate pattern around what were once finely polished shells. It must have taken weeks to carve the kanji that was on the inside of each shell, now faded and unreadable, but still beautiful.

And as she lightly traced over each shell, she could understand why her nameless god coveted it so; she could feel the love her grandmother had poured into this charm.

Deft fingers found the knot around his neck that held the necklace firm, dancing over it, and fighting against the stiff twine that had held it in place for more than a hundred years.

Her nails dug into it, trying to squeeze into the knot and loosen it as she tried to hold onto the last of her breath.

She was running out of time, but she was not going to face him again knowing she had held her prize in the palm of her hand and couldn't grasp it. It was right as she felt herself hit her limit the knot came loose, and the necklace floated down into her palm.


	2. Drabbles 21-40

Chapter Twenty-One

Congratulation

The congratulation and approval in her Cove god's eyes when she breached the surface, fingers curled around the aged charm, made her heart soar.

He extended one tiny hand toward her own, and she moved to hand him his treasure. But as their palms collided, his sharply pointed fingers closed around her own and lifted her from the water with an effortless grace.

It was a distinctly odd feeling, standing on water as if it were wood under her feet. She could feel it shifting, flowing between her toes, but she didn't sink into it.

"Thank you for this." There was such a melancholy note to his tone that she couldn't help but look down at the boy. He wasn't looking at her, but staring reverently at the shells, memorizing the lines of them with his eyes. A single tear dropped down to disappear like mist in the air, though his expression never changed.

"She is in these shells, resting so close to me but just out of reach; it was unbearable."

\-----

Chapter Twenty-Two

Fixation

The fixation of his gaze when it finally came to rest upon her was unbearable. "It seems it is time for me to repay my end of the bargain and help you to reclaim your love from the spirit world, just as you have returned mine to me."

He turned around then to gaze at the cliff that protected their cove, gesturing to the face of it as his tiny hand towed her towards shore. "Beneath the cliffs there is a chasm that stretches back for miles. Deep within its depths is a pool; an ancient lake with no spirit to protect it. I can open for you the way, but I cannot summon it a guardian; that is for you to do."

She pressed fingers to her lips; head snapping down to look at him in shock. "Do you...Do you really mean...?"

A small, indulgent smile curled up is lips at that. "It is a part of my domain, but I am willing to gift it to you, provided your dragon can prove his worth as a guardian. Protecting a river is a small feat compared to a subterranean lake."

"He can do it. Kohaku can do anything." She assured him.

The boy nodded solemnly at those words, pressing a hand against the cool stone in caress.

\-----

Chapter Twenty-Three

Acceleration

He swept one clawed hand across the stone and it melted away almost as if he were pushing aside a sheet; the acceleration of hundreds of years of erosion creating a tunnel that traveled deep into the cliff face.

"Follow me." And with that, his tiny hand once again took up residence in her palm, clutching her fingers as he pulled her forward into the dark.

Before she could even voice her problem, ten little balls of blue flame sprang into life around her. Spinning and twisting in random patterns and lines, almost as if they were being pulled along by a string as they guided her steps down into the chasm.

She didn't know how long they had been walking, but when they reached the underground lake, Chihiro could hardly believe her eyes.

It was beautiful, and it was strange. The water such a pure, crystal clear blue that it made her breath catch. Stalactites jutted down from the ceiling in such extremes that they sometimes disappeared into the calm waters in which she gazed upon.

"It's perfect." She whispered softly, fingers swirling though the icy water at her feet.

\-----

Chapter Twenty-Four

Celebration

"Go on, take a taste of virgin water. This is land is a place Mortals have never tread." Chihiro looked up in question at the boy for a moment, and he merely inclined his head, so she leaned forward to cup water in her palms.

Right as she was to pull her hands up, she paused, staring intently down at the water. Or rather, what was in it.

"There are fish in here!" She marveled, delighting in the life she saw there, the celebration of survival. "This lake has its own ecosystem cut off from the rest of the world!" The site of the tiny eel like creature that was investigating her fingers made her smile and the god merely chuckle.

"Of course it does. Do you think I would guard this place so fiercely if it were merely just beautiful? This entire cave is alive. The lake is alive. It deserves a guardian with equal passion."

\-----

Chapter Twenty-Five

Nation

She turned to face the child god then, a question in her eyes. "Now that we have a place for him, how... how do I let him know? That is to say..."

He raised a hand to stop her, that indulgent smile making itself known again. "You want to know how you may find him to bring him to his new home."

Chihiro chewed her lip as she looked up at him, feeling very much a kid in his presence. "Yes."

He merely crouched down so he was eye level with her, looking so purely innocent she just wanted to hug him. "I can take you to a gateway from which you may enter the Nation of Spirits, but from there it will be up to you to retrieve him. You should arrive once more in the town by the foot of Yubaba's bathhouse; he was still there when I last ventured that far from my cove," he picked up a small stone and made to skip it. "I can get you there, but you must always remember; return from the same place you entered. Or you might get spirited away again."

\-----

Chapter Twenty-Six

Absolution

She turned slightly to run hesitant fingers though the boy's hair, ruffling it slightly as if she would a child's before the movement changed, and she was twisting the silky strands though her fingers. "I... thank you. For doing this for us, I mean. You know I would have helped you get the necklace back even without your offer to help, I don't know how to repay your kindness."

At her words, his cherubic face turned to her, an unreadable expression marring his delicate features and making him look almost doll like in appearance. "You are my absolution." He stated simply, moving a single hand in random patterns; the water mirrored him as it rose to shape itself to his whim, twisting and twirling though the air. "My atonement."

He then willed the water toward her, allowing it to dance among the flames he'd already conjured, creating a wonderfully choreographed mixture of fire and water for her to marvel at.

"I could not favor you because of your heritage -a god must be just and equal to all- so your returning to me of the necklace was a difficult enough task to justify my actions; I would have helped you reclaim your love even without it though; your despair was so much like a mirror of her own."

\-----

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Infatuation

"Come." He slowly stood and extended to her his hand. "Let us get you home; you must prepare for your journey."

She took the appendage without question and allowed him to help her to her feet. "But... I need to make a shrine for him to possess. Isn't that how it's done; doesn't he need a holy place?" There was worry in her voice and her nameless god nodded gravely in acknowledgment, pulling her down so he could reach her face and press a chaste kiss to her brow.

She could see the slight infatuation in his eyes when he pulled back to look at her again, but knew his heart would always belong to someone long deceased, and she was okay with that.

"I will take care of that; you need to rest and ready yourself for walking between worlds again; it is a dangerous journey to which I cannot accompany you. This is for you alone to accomplish, little Chihiro, and it is not my place to come along and insure your success. There would be no triumph in a task to which the ends are predetermined."

\-----

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Benediction

The next day's flew by in such a whirl of planning and phone calls to let everyone know she was going on 'vacation', that by the time she was standing on the steps of the ancient shrine that was to be her gate into the spirit world, her stomach was fluttering with anticipatory butterflies.

"What if he doesn't recognize me?" She whispered more to herself than to the god by her side as she stared up at the red painted Torii standing at attention before her. It was her moment of truth; there was no turning back without Kohaku after she stepped through it.

"He will, little one. Your dragon has not forgotten you."

She nodded slightly, chewing on her lip, before turning back to the gate and taking a determined step.

Her Cove raised his hand in silent benediction, and she stepped through the gate.

\-----

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Perdition

It was an indescribable feeling, passing between worlds. Almost like that moment when you dive headlong into the water, and the feeling of it washing over every inch of your skin, slowly rolling down your body to consume you. Almost like the moment when you set down your paintbrush and realize you've created something so breathtaking that's it's got an edge of magic embedded within its very being. But more, and less.

As she gazed around at the vastness that was the land before her, she was in awe. In awe of the beauty she'd seemed to have forgotten this place held, and in awe of her own audacity in thinking that she could really find him in such a large world; could convince him to return with her.

That would be perdition for her; failing. After having come so far, to lose him again, or never find him at all, was an unbearable thought.

Chihiro closed her eyes, breathing deeply for a moment to try to ground herself in this world that was so foreign and so familiar at the same time.

She could do this. She had to. Failure was not an option; she couldn't live like this anymore.

\-----

Chapter Thirty

Retribution

Steeling herself, Chihiro took off down the hillside, making her way to the town at the foot of the bathhouse. It was so eerily familiar, completely unchanged from the last time she'd seen it, but her memories had the patina of age marring them; she'd never remembered it being this grand.

She'd been scared the first time she walked this path; picking her way across river stone and up the steps leading into the town. Spirits watched her progress as she walked the twisting streets, steadily growing closer and closer to the bathhouse. She wasn't afraid this time.

She was doing this for her Cove God just as much as she was for herself and Kohaku. This was his retribution against fate; a requiem for unrequited love.

And with that knowledge, she took her first step onto the bridge that led to the entrance to the bathhouse.

\-----

Chapter Thirty-One

Confabulation

She stood there for an impossibly long time, just taking in the place she'd once called home while she searched for a way to save her parents.

It was times like this, as she stared at the front gate, she realized the extent of the confabulation of her memories; she'd forgotten the grandeur of this place, the sheer magnificence of the bathhouse. She hadn't wanted to remember. And filled in the gaps with memories of her fear, memories of the lengths she'd taken to save her loved ones; memories of him.

Chihiro remained rooted to the spot, standing in the center of the bridge until the lanterns started to light, and the doors creaked open, revealing to her eyes face she never thought to see again, faces that hadn't aged a day and mirrored her own in disbelief.

"S... Sen?"

"Aniyaku," She bowed in acknowledgment, a slight smile tilting her lips as she towered over the man who was once someone she had to look up. "Do you know where I can find Haku?"

\-----

Chapter Thirty-Two

Contribution

"You're so... big." Chihiro frowned when that seemed to be the extent of his contribution to the conversation, but as she opened her mouth he spoke again. "And you don't stink like human, you smell like… Salt water."

At that she snorted. "Well it was the god who presides over my Cove who helped me get here, and I spend most every day with him, so I would hope I smell more like the ocean and less like a human." She retorted dryly. "Where's Lin or Yubaba? I need to talk to someone who might actually know where Haku is."

The manager of the bathhouse waved forward one of the frog men absently, and the little green man gestured for her to follow him. "Aogaeru, take Sen up to Yubaba's floor."

She moved to accompany him inside, but paused to look back at him. "Oh, and Aniyaku? My name is Chihiro now. Chihiro Ogino."

\-----

Chapter Thirty-Three

Restitution

It was strange, walking though the hallways again. The last time she'd traveled them; she was a scared little ten year old girl trying so desperately to be brave, and this time... this time she was a woman, and she wasn't afraid anymore. Not of the awed whispers and blunt staring; and not of the knowledge that this time, she was someone important. Someone who was remembered.

And she wasn't sneaking through the boiler room; she was parading through the front entrance with all the grandeur of the Ocean God who had sent her.

"Sen! Sen is that you?"

Chihiro turned slightly when she heard the voice, and was confronted with the image of a frazzled looking woman who she could never have forgotten, even if she had aged -which she hadn't. "Lin."

Lin quickly grasped her hand and waved the little frog man away before pulling her into an elevator. "You're back! Why'd you come back?"

She shrugged slightly, smiling at the worry in the woman's tone. "For restitution. It's time for Haku to come home."

\-----

Chapter Thirty-Four

Confusion

"You're... you're here for Haku?" Lin asked, suddenly shy around the woman who she'd formerly known as a child, and who was now somehow older than herself. It was if the passage of time written so clearly on Chihiro's face unsettled her.

Chihiro tilted her head slightly to look at her in slight confusion. "Of course." She stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I... I always knew you'd come back for him. You're so big now, Sen."

She blinked at the woman for a second before breaking out into peals of laughter. "That's the second time I've been told that today. I'm not ten years old anymore, Lin; I'm twenty-eight, I would certainly hope I've grown in that time."

"I know. But you'll always be a kid to me." She smiled softly. "Haku's contract with Yubaba was broken, but he's still around most of the time; what he does is a mystery to me though."

\-----

Chapter Thirty-Five

Definition

It was so strange; looking at Lin with adult eyes. Really, she looked as if she were barely 19 years old, if that. She knew the woman was still far older than she could ever hope to be, but there was something about her being the same, when Chihiro had changed so much, that was jarring to her.

Lin was still as headstrong as she remembered. Still as exuberantly protective. Still so wistfully sad.

"I plan to speak to Yubaba. Just as a formality, mind you. I should at least be the one to tell her I'm here... and that I plan to take a bath while I'm waiting for Haku to show up."

Lin turned to look at her in what might have been shock. "And you think you'll get away with that? Humans aren't supposed to be here; that's why you had to sneak in the first time. Haku went through a lot of trouble to keep you safe, you know."

Chihiro shrugged. "I don't see why it would be a problem. I did send a god here to relax; she owes me one."

Those guarded eyes lit up then with barely contained laughter. "That was the talk of the bathhouse, you know. It was the strangest thing to happen since, well, you."

Turning curious eyes to the woman by her side, Chihiro spoke. "Give me your definition of strange."

\-----

Chapter Thirty-Six

Concussion

"Didn't he tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Oh gosh, I remember it like it was yesterday. When he showed up at the front gate, Yubaba was waiting to greet him personally; it's not often we get gods here, you know. He just looked her up and down before dismissing her and demanding to see Haku of all people."

"I bet that got her into a tizzy."

"Oh, you know it."

"Then what happened?"

"She went and got him, of course; she wasn't going to upset a customer. Well, when Haku finally showed up, the boy just grabbed his hand and told him he knew a really good friend of his that missed him quite a bit."

"That must have been a bit confusing."

"Well, yeah. Haku asked who he was, and what he was talking about. I'll never forget this part. The boy just looked up at him and said: 'I am the Nameless, and my Little Chihiro misses you very much; her tears fall into my waters and they sadden me. So we're going to take a bath together, you and I'."

Chihiro felt as if she had a concussion; foggy and disoriented and confused. "I... I didn't... how did Haku react?" She asked weakly.

\-----

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Fission

Lin shrugged in reply as the elevator slowly rolled to a stop, before leading Chihiro out to make their way to the second elevator that went all the way to the top floor. It was surreal, walking this path again without hiding. "He was a bit startled, really. Looked down at the boy holding onto his hand like he'd never seen a god before. And I swear to you, Haku sounded almost jealous when he asked how he knew you. The Nameless didn't seem all that phased though; just told him that 'The fission of two people's lives wasn't going to start with him.'"

She blinked at that, following Lin wordlessly down the hallway as she awaited her continuance.

"After that he got really interested. They talked for hours, I don't know about what though. I do know Haku was different after that. Started going on missions for Yubaba again; helping out around the bathhouse more for no reason. I think he was trying to just... occupy himself. It seemed like he was really conflicted. Like he was running from something."

She was silent, thinking, until the elevator doors closed and they were once again zooming upwards. "Running from something? Like what?"

"His thoughts maybe. His feelings."

\-----

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Cognition

Chihiro didn't ask about the encounter again, instead trying to process that cognition as the elevator slowly took them higher and higher, and Lin was quiet for the remainder of the trip, allowing her to think and only turning to face one her once the doors rolled open to reveal Yubaba's dimly lit home.

"I'll be here waiting for you okay? And if you don't come out, I'll go find Haku."

Chihiro nodded softly. "Thank you. I'll be back soon, I promise."

With that they exchanged a short hug and she made her way toward the large doors.

Taking a deep, steeling breath, she planted her feet in front of the doors, took the knocker in hand, and banged it fiercely against the wood.

"If you'd open the doors, I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own this time!"

\-----

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Interrogation

"Impertinent girl!" The knocker cried when she finally released it. "How dare you talk to me like that?"

Chihiro sighed, flicking a strand of hair from her face. "Well I wouldn't have to talk to you like this if you'd open the doors so I can come in."

The knockers bounced around, cackling and she rolled her eyes; she'd forgotten just how much of Yubaba was for show. "And why should I let you in? You're not looking for another job I hope."

"I'm here to chat, Yubaba, not have an interrogation. I came up here to be courteous. I don't have to tell you anything."

"Impertinent girl!" The knockers chorused again when the doors creaked open. "Well, come on then. I don't have all day."

\-----

Chapter Forty

Suggestion

"You know," Chihiro started as she passed though the final set of doors into Yubaba's office. "It might be nice if you could post some directions leading in here. I almost got lost. Just a suggestion."

"Duly noted." The witch retorted tightly. "Why are you here, Sen? I should eat you for returning to my bathhouse."

Chihiro shrugged, seating herself in the plush armchair facing Yubaba's desk. It was much more comfortable than she remembered, and she allowed herself to relax into it. "Oh, I'm merely here to reclaim what's mine. And take a bath while I'm waiting for him to return from whatever he's doing for you right now."

Yubaba blinked in surprise at that admission. "You think you can take Haku?" She mocked. "Are you forgetting that a spirit cannot remain in the human world without something to hold it there? Haku's river is gone; you smelly humans saw to that."

"That's right, his river is gone."Chihiro acknowledged. "But you forget I attract gods like you do lazy workers; we've been given a gift and now he can come home."


	3. Drabbles 41-60

Chapter Forty-One

Possession

The witch put her pin down to recline back in her chair, looking back at the younger woman with steepled fingers. "You've grown to be quite the cheeky little thing, Sen. Not a very desirable trait when trying to convince me not to trap you here."

Chihiro shrugged in nonchalance, eyeing Yubaba as she too assumed a relaxed position. "You owe me. I've not helped you get one god through these hallways, but two."

She snorted in dismissal, waving one sun-spotted hand in Chihiro's direction. "A polluted river and a nameless ocean. Hardly amazing feat girl; Gods are attracted to humans. You intrigue them."

"Whatever makes you sleep better."

The witch's slammed her hands down on her desk in aggravation at the blasé tone. "And what makes you think he would even want to go with you? You silly little love struck chit."

Chihiro was surprised by the possession in her tone when she finally spoke in reply. "Because Kohaku belongs to me. Chihiro Ogino. Not you."

\-----

Chapter Forty-Two

Aggravation

She couldn't seem to shake the aggravation that trailed her after leaving the witch's office. Not even when her voice boomed out that Lin was to take her to a bath far away from the rest of the guests so as not to affect them with the stench of human.

She knew she didn't smell human, and that it was Yubaba's way of trying to play nice, but it only served to annoy her more.

She'd even invited Lin to bathe with her while she waited, but the other woman merely shook her head and said something to the effect of: "I'll take a rain check; it'd be better if you guys had some time alone when you reunite; you've got a lot to talk about."

So that was how she found herself; lounging in silence in the scented water, relaxing into a languid, sleepy state of peace when the doors burst open hard enough to make her squeal in surprise.

She spun her head around to face the door, and all thought of snapping at the intruder vanished when she saw his face again.

"Chihiro! What are you doing back here? Do you know how much danger you could be in?"

\-----

Chapter Forty-Three

Passion

It was strange, seeing Kohaku all grown up. He was the same as she remembered, but different. Older. More angular. Seductive. His eyes, his cheekbones, his hands were all different in that they were an adult's rendition of childhood elegance.

It was like the Kohaku she'd always known was just a rough sketch of the man he was now.

"How could you put yourself in such danger by returning?" He asked, hands coming forward to wrap around the lip of the tub and bring himself face to face with her. And it was jarring, how his voice was no longer like the soft, textured buzz of untanned leather, but a husky rumbling that rolled like quiet thunder though the room.

It wasn't a horribly drastic deepening, but the heavier tenor was a noticeable change when used with the anger and passion of an adult. A little more gravel to its edges, a little less velvet.

"I had too." She stated simply, bringing fingers up to curiously trace the angular line of his cheekbone, memorizing the change. "You aren't a mind reader; so I had to come tell you myself."

"And what was so important you would put yourself at risk to tell me?" He hissed, deftly ignoring her fingers on his flesh as he focused on his anger.

"That you can come home."

\-----

Chapter Forty-Four

Tension

There was a tension in his shoulders and disbelief in his narrow eyes at her words, so she continued on with her explanation, fingers moving to play with a silky lock of his hair that had fallen forward to curtain them. "We've been given a gift. If you can prove you can protect it, that is, the Ocean has seen fit to carve out an entrance to a subterranean lake. You can come home."

Kohaku lurched back in shock, looking down at her questioningly before a faint blush took up residence on his cheeks, and he spun around to face the wall, searching for something.

Once spotting it, he walked forward with quicksteps, grabbing a large fluffy towel and yukata from their place folded neatly on the bench. "I cannot speak with you while you are naked, Chihiro. Come, let us get you dry and find someplace more suited for a conversation of this importance."

She nodded slightly, stepping out of the bath and into his arms where he was holding the towel to dry her, before then letting him slip the yukata over her shoulders. It was kind of cute really; how he insisted upon the task of dressing her but refused to look at her more than out of the corner of his eye.

Once clothed enough to suit his delicate sensibilities, she moved quickly to wrap arms around him, surprising him with the force of her hug.

"I missed you so much." She mumbled into his neck, and his arms came forward to crush her to him.

"Come," he whispered, lips finding the curve of her shoulder though the silk and placing a chaste kiss upon it. "The walls have ears here."

\-----

Chapter Forty-Five

Combustion

The supposed combustion she was feeling in her chest came to a head when he took her hand in his to drag her from the bathing area and they passed a group of very sheepish looking workers -Lin included- on their way to the elevators. Where he was taking her up the machine was a mystery, but he never did let go of her hand.

There was no conversation, just an air of expectancy in their every movement as they arrived on one of the upper floors and he commenced dragging her down random hallways again.

He abruptly stopped though at a doorway that looked like all the others they had passed, turning slightly to her to murmur 'Stay' before disappearing within.

The entire outside wall of the hallway he left her in was made of rice paper windows, almost like her old dorms, and she smiled for a moment at the memory.

From somewhere within she could hear the sound of flesh impacting with tatami flooring and a very masculine hiss telling whomever the occupants of the room were to get out.

Moments later, four bleary eyed men stumbled out of the room, took one look at her, grumbled, and disappeared down the hallway. The next thing she knew a very firm, elegant hand had latched onto her wrist and dragged her headlong into the room, the door sliding shut with a sharp 'clack' behind her.

\-----

Chapter Forty-Six

Transition

The transition from awkward, furious man to curious, angry, interested male was nearly instantaneous. And she found herself pinned to the paper door with a gentleness that belayed his temper, his forehead coming to rest against the crook of her neck.

"Let me get this straight Chihiro, because I am afraid I am misunderstanding you somehow. You risked becoming trapped once again in the spirit world to come on a fool's errand to me, to tell me that your pet Cove has graced us with a gift we may not even be able to keep. I fear what sort of task you had to perform in order to even secure the opportunity."

She brought arms up to wrap around his neck, weaving fingers though his hair. "I dived to the bottom of the cove and retrieved for him a necklace made by my great, great grandmother. That's it. He even granted safe passage; just as long as we return the same way I came in. And it should not be hard to prove your worth to him; it pains him to see my sadness without you."

Kohaku's face came up to sit centimeters from her own, and there was a bite in his voice when he spoke. "If the Nameless cared for you so dearly, then why did he not come himself to retrieve me?"

"Because it was my task and mine alone," she whispered. "Even with how deeply I cared for you, there was a chance the affection wasn't mutual... in that since; I had to give you the option to say no."

\-----

Chapter Forty-Seven

Enunciation

"You had to give me the option of saying... no." His enunciation of each word was slow and deliberate, as if he was testing the meaning of each before speaking.

"Yes?"

The next moment found her wrapped in his arms and flying towards the floor, landing amongst pillows and blankets that were strune haphazardly across the space, his weight caging her as he let out surprised peals of laughter into her neck, his arms still fit securely around her waist and holding her flush to him. The thick fabric of is Kariginu robe blocking the feeling of his chest from her, but not his warmth.

"What's so funny?" She demanded, fingers finding their way up into his sleeves to grasp onto bare skin.

He sobered slightly, looking down at her with an expression she'd only ever seen on his face once before; on the night she had remembered his name. "You are. Did you really think 'no' was a viable option? I would follow you to the ends of the earth if I could."

And in that next second his lips found hers. Slowly. Softly. Hesitantly. Perfectly.

\-----

Chapter Forty-Eight

Aspiration

"Tell me more." He urged, fingers idly playing with a strand of her hair as they lay amongst the bedding in the messy, communal space. Legs as intertwined as feasible with their restrictive clothing, merely reveling in the closeness and the intimacy afforded with such a luxury. "We still have until the light touches the sky before we can even consider returning to the mortal world, and I want to know everything I missed."

"Well," she started, shifting closer to him and pressing her shoulder into his chest, and his other arm that was supporting his weight moved to cushion her head bringing them face to face. "It's my aspiration to become a famous painter. My studio is actually located on the bottom floor of my house; just up the way from the entrance to your lake. If my sense of direction was right, my house probably sits right over top of it."

"So the entrance is close to where you reside, is it?" There was a faint smirk touching upon his lips, but she didn't read much into it, instead turning slightly to press her face into his chest, and the hand that was playing in her hair smoothed down her side to anchor itself around her waist.

"Mhmm. I usually jump off the cliff right behind my house when I want to go swimming, and right around the corner is the cove; the entrance is carved out of the cliff face there, headed inland. It's so beautiful Kohaku; I think you'll love it there."

"I still have to win it first." He murmured against her forehead, and the implication was clear. I have to win you first.

\-----

Chapter Forty-Nine

Putrefaction

"Now it's your turn." Chihiro shifted to look up at him with expectant eyes, fingers finding their way to the bared throat where his robes had loosened during their rolling upon the futon -who's owner was still a mystery to her. "Tell me about the changes. This place looks the same as it always has, but it feels different." She told him, fingers tracing the smooth lines of his throat.

And she could have sworn that was a purr he'd admitted in reply before speaking. "After you left, the putrefaction of the bathhouse's inner workings finally came to light. Yubaba is a smart woman, Chihiro, she could see as well as any that changes had to be made. And they were. Quickly. She was not about to allow this place to just become another footnote."

When it seemed he wouldn't elaborate further than that, she poked him on a magnificently streamlined shoulder. "Oh come on, give me more than that." She pleaded, laughter in her voice when his hands pulled her down to fit snugly against his chest.

"Not until you tell me what it is you paint."

She was quiet for a moment making herself comfortable against him. "I would have thought that one would have been obvious," she replied, shrugging slightly at the question in his eyes. "You, of course."

\-----

Chapter Fifty

Addition

They laid there speaking about anything they could for what seemed hours, fingertips memorizing the feel of each other's hair and faces. Bodies memorizing the warmth of its partner even through layers of clothing, until he finally drew her close again, tucking her back against him and nuzzling into her hair.

It was strange to her, that they had such a level of familiarity with the other to lie like this when the most they had shared was a single, chaste kiss born of the excitement of being reunited.

Strange. And comforting.

"Rest, Chihiro. Tomorrow will be trying, of that I can already tell. Something is going to happen in addition to what we could expect with your sudden reappearance and subsequent disappearance from this world."

She nodded slightly as she closed her eyes, knowing that he could feel the motion though he couldn't see it. "G'night, Kohaku."

"Sleep sweet," he whispered in return.

\-----

Chapter Fifty-One

Imperfection

Morning found them early as his dorm mates shuffled in to sleep before their next shift -giving the sleepy pair a few sideways glances when they entered- and Chihiro and Kohaku waited out the last few hours of cleaning that would take place before the bathhouse finally shut down for the day on the balcony, talking softly and eating meat buns in the early morning light.

Finally Haku climbed to his feet, extending to her a hand, which she accepted without a moment of hesitation. "The building resounds with the imperfection of slumber, it is time for us to depart."

Chihiro nodded softly, allowing him to pull her to her feet and lead her down the hallway back toward the elevator they had taken up here the night previous.

They had made it about halfway down to ground level when she turned to him. "Something's wrong."

No sooner had the words left her mouth that the elevator lurched to a stop and Yubaba's voice came thundering out of nowhere.

"If you thought leaving would be as simple as just walking out the front door you are both sadly mistaken. I put you through a test the first time, you impertinent girl, and I'll do so again. If you want to go, fine. But you must find your own way out."

And with that, there was a crack, a slam, and the elevator was falling uncontrollably toward the ground.

\-----

Chapter Fifty-Two

Satisfaction

In a split second Haku had his arms around her, lifting her and sending a pulse of power toward the ground, knocking the bottom out of the elevator. She wrapped arms around his neck as he sent them sailing through the air, passing under the elevator and zooming through an opening onto one of the floors.

Moments later there was a horrible crashing from somewhere below.

"Apparently she means business." Chihiro observed dryly, looking around her in interest once Kohaku had placed her back on her feet, his hands remaining about her waist though, and his fingers reluctant to fully release her.

Everything was different. Solid walls instead of rice paper jutted up all the way to the ceiling, turning the large, empty space of the third basement baths into a twisting maze. "What in the world did she do to the bathhouse?" She whispered in wonder.

"This is her test; a maze." He mused. "Come. I am unsure of what mysteries lie within, but we must not dawdle and give her the satisfaction of our hesitation."

\-----

Chapter Fifty-Three

Complication

Chihiro nodded in acceptance, fitting her hand within his own as they slowly, carefully made their way into the maze. There was a strange sense of claustrophobia that came with the tall, thin corridors they were traversing.

"My grandmother taught me a trick for these," she murmured, looking up at him slightly. "You're supposed to keep one hand on a wall at all times; and it will lead you to the exit."

"I am afraid I do not know how well that will work in a maze such as this," he replied solemnly. "Look behind you."

She did, glancing back over her shoulder and nearly jumped in her shock. "There was a hallway there! Where'd it go?" She asked, stepping back to trace fingertips down the smooth expanse of wall. Solid and stable.

"This will be a complication Chihiro; the maze is sentient and it does not want our escape; it changes."

\-----

Chapter Fifty-Four

Pollution

It was shortly after that revelation that they commenced their trek through Yubaba's maze, Kohaku pausing at very corner to look around the edge of it before ushering her forward. It was at one of these moments that he slowly stepped back from the turn, whispering to her. "We must turn back."

"Why?" She asked in the same soft tone.

He hedged for a moment before waving her forward. "Only get close enough to see, and then step back; you cannot let them see you in return."

Chihiro stifled the gasp that threatened to break loose when she did. "What are those?" She motioned to the dark, shadowy creatures that where moving before them. Some more like smoke, others more like sludge, but all dark, all strange.

"Do you remember the hole before Yubaba's fireplace? The one we fell down?" she nodded. "It is where she throws the dead ones. Unnatural ones. Curses and pollution that ride in on the backs of land bound spirits. They are dangerous. We must find another way."

\-----

Chapter Fifty-Five

Personification

She didn't fight his order to find another way; something about the creatures was unsettling. They made her skin crawl. Like they were a personification of everything wrong with the world, in a parody of human form.

"Why does she not destroy them if they are so dangerous?" Chihiro asked softly, watching for any new openings in their path.

"Because she is a Witch and not a spirit; they hold no danger for her. She actually considers them sort of as… guardians of the bathhouse. Her enforcers. This is not the first time she has used them in such a manner." He replied, carefully leveling her behind him as he felt along a corner that was not there a moment before, having formed in the space of a blink of an eye.

"But what threat could they pose to you? You're a Dragon, and one of the most powerful spirits I've ever encountered, surely there's something that can be done about them."

He was shaking his head before she'd even finished her sentence, sending silky green locks tumbling over his shoulders in disarray. "I have seen them kill. They attach themselves to a spirit, calling for more of their own until there's nothing left of what once was, consuming them from the inside out. Turning spirits into monsters just like them."

\-----

Chapter Fifty-Six

Contemplation

Chihiro was lost in contemplation, biting her lip and following him wordlessly down a corridor that looked no different from the ones before; amazingly detailed murals covered them entirely in a never ending image of the macabre.

She almost didn't know what hit her when his arm snaked around her waist and he propelled them up into the air, sending a ball of power toward the floor that exploded like a powder-bomb; the glow of it licking up the walls before vanishing into the air.

It was all at once then that everything happened.

The shadowy creatures exploded from the black areas in the paintings, reaching up at them with yearning hands.

And Haku was changing; pinning her to an upper portion of the wall with hands that had turned to claws as his skin dissolved away into scales and his body twisted in on itself in movements she could only describe as beautiful.

It was then she realized the danger they were in; the shadows were crawling up the walls toward them with frightening efficiently, steadily drawing closer and closer to her and her dragon.

"Haku," She reached up to grab his face, bring him down to look her in the eyes. "Kohaku we have to go. Come on. Come back to me."

\-----

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Revulsion

Kohaku met her eyes; deep green and reptilian to her hazel. Hazel and human. "Come on Haku, come back to me; if nothing else you have to get out of here. Don't let them turn you into a monster."

She could see the war in his eyes, the battle between himself and the beast that lurked under his skin. Something in him though recognized the warning in her words, remembered that under his scales he was still a man. Or rather some captivating blend of the two.

She glanced down franticly, looking to the shadow creatures that where oh so near. Panic bubbled up in her then, and she pushing at the corded muscles of front paws. "Damn it Kohaku, Fly."

It was then that fractured stone broke way from under his claws, sending them tumbling toward the ground, Chihiro clinging desperately to his chest as he made no movement to right them.

It was almost as if time had slowed down for them. The fluttering of unbound hair, scales that floated up above them, tears that fell unbidden; all seeming as if frozen while her eyes locked with his own.

It was then that she saw the first flicker of emotion from the beast that had overtaken him; Revulsion. Right as the expression registered to her, time seemed to regain its flow for merely a moment, before slamming down on the fast forward key.

Haku was twisting them in the air, slamming his heavy tail into one of the creatures that had managed too close before propelling them through the air at lightning speed. She watched the creature drop like a stone; a lock of her hair still clutched in its grasp.

\-----

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Prestidigitation

They crashed into the ground some distance away. Truthfully she wasn't sure of how far they'd gone; twisting through corners and past shadows so quickly her eyes could barely keep up.

All she knew was when she had finally managed to calm her shifting vision; she found her dragon curled in upon himself, ripping viciously at some dark form that rested on his tail; thick claws tearing at his scales as he tried to rid himself of it.

Chihiro watched in horror as he sank bloody fangs into his own flesh, ripping into what was now just a bloody mess to her, before shaking his head and sending the dark mass sailing down the hallway.

When she could finally control her body again, she wrapped arms around him, moving to inspect the damage. But like prestidigitation or some other such supernatural talent, he was no longer there; having wrapped himself around her in coils, bloody tail sweeping the ground in agitation and smearing trails of coppery blood against the floor as he snarled at the lump of black matter. The black lump that was moving.

Whatever it was, it wasn't moving long, as Kohaku shot a ball of power towards it, incinerating it into nothing before shaking his mane, a shiver running down the entire length of his body and drawing her eyes to the wound on his tail.

The wound was a bright blackish red and smoking faintly. If her eyes focused on it too hard, it even appeared that the raw flesh was writhing like maggots on a corpse.

She pressed a hand over her mouth in shock. "Oh Kohaku, what… what's happening to you?"

His only reply was a comforting rumble and the nuzzling of his muzzle into her hair.

\-----

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Version

He bent down on his front paws then, gesturing for her to climb up onto his back. He was so much larger than she remembered, his body curling around in circles so as to fit in the narrow hallway. So large even, that she could barely wrap her legs around his thick form.

It was a strange sensation; she remembered the feeling of riding on his back as he flew through the sky, but it felt so different now. The shifting of his body between her thighs as his muscles arched was the same as she remembered, but there was an adult's knowledge of how those movements mimicked another that felt so dangerous. Dangerous and delicious and different.

Because there was something distinctly different about this adult version of her dragon, too.

As children, he had had complete control over this form; as if he had willed the beast that lurked under his flesh into submission. But this Haku embraced it. He was as much a dragon as he was a man.

\-----

Chapter Sixty

Salutation

It was strangely peaceful as they made their way through the maze; as if the entire world was holding its breath for them. Waiting for something.

It was then she noticed how many of the black shapes they were passing over, and the thrumming that pulsed through her dragon when they reached up toward them as they pair flew past. If she hadn't seen firsthand the damage they could inflict, she would have assumed they were merely spirits waving in salutation. The longing with which the dark masses reached for him sent a shaver down her spine.

They had touched him once, and were desperate for anther taste.

Shortly after that they touched down on a familiar looking platform; one of the first basement performance stages. They were so close.

"Why are we stopping?" She whispered to him.

He didn't reply; she knew he couldn't. He merely shook his mane in agitation as he stared at the dark hallway before them. Fangs bore as he lowered his head, hackles up and tail thrashing violently against the once pristine walls.

"What's waiting for us in the darkness Kohaku? What stands in our path now?"


	4. Drabbles 61-80

Chapter Sixty-One

Question

Her question answered itself when she noticed movement slowly approaching them in the darkness. It was a large, lumbering shape; its mass seeming to shift as it tried to retain its form while moving toward them.

As it drew closer, Haku lowered himself to the ground, rolling his shoulders so she knew to dismount.

The moment her feet touched the ground, he was wrapped around her again, forcing her into a far corner as he twisted himself around to face the creature again.

It was one of the most grotesque things she had ever seen; a large writhing mass of blackness, its eyes mere pinpoints of glowing red against it.

The creature and Kohaku squared off in the center of the room; it testing the limits of the dragon's tolerance and he refusing to move from his position guarding her; his tail blocking any attack that might fly off in her direction.

When it noticed her dragon's protective stance before her and not in his own defense, it lunged forward with arms that sprouted right out of its body; made of shadows that where aimed for Kohaku's belly.

He dodged them with ease, pouncing on the demon and ripping into it with his claws as his muzzle buried itself into the moving mass of shadows that was its back.

It shrieked in pain.

\-----

Chapter Sixty-Two

Opinion

Chihiro covered her mouth with her hands in horror as the two combatants rolled together. She couldn't tell where Kohaku began and the monster ended; he having been consumed by the writhing mass of shadow. All she could see were flashes of silvery scales and wickedly sharp claws between tumbles and roars of agony, whose origin she couldn't with any degree of certainty say.

All she knew was that there was blood. Everywhere.

And then it happened, out of the dark mass Haku's head rose, blood dripping from his fangs and muzzle, clinging to his fur and his lips as they curled when he went in for another attack; sinking fangs and claws deep into his enemy.

There was a pulsing rolling through his entire body at the violence of it all, muscles bulging with remembered strength.

And as he once again tore into the creature, so she realized for the first time just how feral her dragon could be. She'd never considered Kohaku as fearsome; she had been of the opinion that he was just a boy –now man- that could change his shape into that of an animal. And yet as he fought for her, for them, she found herself frightened. For him. And of him.

\-----

Chapter Sixty-Three

Deception

If it seemed that the beast was winning, it was a deception. It didn't take long for Kohaku to overturn the battle; his vicious attacks quickly gaining him the upper hand as he landed blow after horrible blow.

Somehow her dragon had found the beast's throat through the mass of shadows, and with a snarl and a violent shake, she heard a sickening crack; and the beast was still.

Kohaku stood over top his fallen enemy; panting from exertion as the shadows slowly melted off into a black sludge that pooled onto the wooden floor, casting his fur in shades dingy gray.

He turned to her then, looking tired but fiercely proud of his defending of her, as there was something smugly male about his expression before he curled in on himself to try and rip off the few shadows that where still clinging to his flesh.

When she noticed him having trouble reaching one, she approached him without a thought, moving to grasp it when he snarled at her.

Taken aback by the action she did the first thing she could think of; she snarled back as her fingers closed over the black mass and yanked.

\-----

Chapter Sixty-Four

Extinction

It burned in her palms. She could see the smoke sizzling from her fingertips, but she tightened her hold anyway; fighting the urge to rip her hands from the searing gelatinous mass.

As she clawed at it, working her fingers further between it and his fur, the hotter it became, until finally it came free and she tossed it away from them, cradling the abused appendages against her abdomen with a whine.

Kohaku lowered his head to nuzzle into her, tongue darting out to sooth the sting as much as he could, a rumble of apology vibrating in his chest.

When he finally pulled back so that she could assess the damage, she was shocked to find swirling veins of dark, throbbing purple crisscrossing the entirety of her palms.

"Shit." She knew it wasn't at all eloquent and speaking that way was only aiding to the extinction of proper speech, but she couldn't help herself; just like she couldn't –and wouldn't- quell the stream of rather colorful curses that spewed forth in the next few moments as she vented her frustrations.

Kohaku allowed her that moment, seemingly unaffected by her blasphemies.

She quieted soon after that; resting her forehead against his neck and wrapping her arms around his girth, mindful of her aching hands; feeling bone weary and emotionally exhausted. "We need to hurry." She mumbled into his fur. "All of that violence no doubt attracted more of them; along with the ones that were already following our trail."

\-----

Chapter Sixty-Five

Simplification

Kohaku nodded against her shoulder, lowering himself to the ground again so she might climb up onto his back.

She hesitated. "Are you sure? You look pretty tired."

He merely snorted in reply, bumping her in the ribs with the flat of his head until she complied.

"Fine, fine. Bossy." She mumbled as she settled herself into his fur; grasping hold of his antlers to steady herself when he took off into the air again.

This time he kept high so as to avoid getting caught by another of the shadow beasts, for which she was thankful; something about seeing the vicious and mindless way he had torn into the Demon had shook her.

She had always known he had his own beast that lived alongside the man, but seeing him act like an animal for the first time had driven the point home with painful accuracy. Really, the simplification of the whole issue was that to her, Kohaku had always been elegant. Refined. An image of control. But he wasn't. He was a Spirit; an ambivalent creature, who's actions she could not judge by any mortal standard of right and wrong.

He just was. And he was hers.

\-----

Chapter Sixty-Six

Affection

They traveled for a time, and Chihiro relaxed into his fur as they arched and corkscrewed through the air; fingers luxuriating in the silky feel of him and twisting strands of his mane through her fingers in a gesture of absent affection.

The dragon purred under her ministrations; both enjoying the slight reprieve from the constant vigilance and tense expectancy this task had placed upon them.

He arched into the movement slightly, never faltering in his flight pattern, and she nestled further into his fur.

He turned his face slightly to face her, taking deep panting breaths as he scented the air, licking his chops before refocusing on what was ahead of them without explanation.

It was then that they noticed something bleak that had her releasing another scathing stream of blasphemies.

They had hit a dead end.

\-----

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Mortification

"I haven't seen any more turns, Haku. Where did we go wrong?" She asked. Biting her lip as her dragon landed against the wall; claws digging into the stone to hold them there.

He rumbled at her noncommittally before readjusting his grip to kick off the structure and take them back the way they had come.

The moment they had taken off into the air again; a shadow jumped out at them from nowhere, causing him to twist around and bring his heavy tail down over it. But instead of crashing to the ground or wrapping itself around him like she expected; it evaporated like smoke and they smacked into a wall that hadn't been there before.

It knocked the air out of her lungs when her side collided with solid rock, deftly silencing her shriek of shock; Kohaku frantically trying to find a grip to keep them from sliding down.

"Well," she wheezed once they had both gotten a moment to calm themselves, him snarling and snapping at anything that might be near, and her trying to swallow the mortification of that squeal of terrified shock; staring at the passage that hadn't been there before. "That was… really interesting. Let's not do it again."

\-----

Chapter Sixty-Eight

Confliction

There was a confliction in her dragon. An unsettlement that reverberated though his very being, leaving him torn and unsure. She wasn't sure what that confliction was, but she could feel it in him. His every movement spoke of it.  
The game was changing. The maze was throwing illusions at them now, shifting around them more rapidly until walls were nothing more than a blur of discomforting feeling and they could be sure of nothing but what they were touching.

Murals that chased them down the pathways started to dance, moving in a parody of life that made Chihiro shudder and press herself more firmly into the comforting solidness of Kohaku's shifting form.

She watched the hallways they were traversing, feeling the effort futile but needing to do something. It was upon one moment of her vision shifting in dizziness that she spotted it. Or rather him.

"Haku! Haku stop! I think that's No-Face down there!"

\-----

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Respiration

His head jerked to the side and they were suddenly descending in slow spirals toward the masked shape that looked so very familiar.

"Be careful," she whispered and he slowly drew them closer. "It might be another illusion."

His heavy claws impacted against wood with ground shaking force, a warning in the action that even she recognized as saying 'fear me.'

But the specter was real, approaching them and cooing in a welcome that she could never have forgotten, and Kohaku moved forward to curl around the apparition slightly, refusing to let her dismount and meet him.

He reached up at her with thin hands, touching her leg slightly and cooing, his respiration labored, before pointing franticly upwards.

So she looked up, and a smile bloomed on her face. "Kohaku look! There's a tunnel going up, it might be a way out!"

When she turned back to look down and thank him, No-face was gone.

\-----

Chapter Seventy

Absorption

Kohaku looked around in suspicion, sniffing everything in site as if their friend might have been absorbed into the very walls.

"He risked a lot to even give us that much."Chihiro murmured as her dragon took off toward the opening without a moment of hesitation, kicking off from the ground in a jarring movement that was so different from his normal grace. She knew that he was slowly succumbing to the very thing he had warned her of. As they slowly arched through the tunnel, avoiding pipes that spanned the space, she knew she was loosing him.

They attach themselves to a spirit, calling for more of their own until there's nothing left of what once was, consuming them from the inside out. Turning spirits into monsters just like them.

They didn't have a lot of time left, and she didn't want to consider just how very little.

\-----

Chapter Seventy-One

Affiliation

When they came shooting from the tunnel, twisting around in midair to try and choose a course, No-Face was awaiting them, pointing down one of the pathways before vanishing back into the walls, and they wasted no time in following it.

It was moments like these -riding upon the back of a dragon who was slowly loosing himself to becoming a demon as they tried to find a way to freedom- that Chihiro questioned the meaning of her life. Questioned why she was chosen for this path; for an affiliation with spirits and ghouls. For a lifetime of straddling the line between mortal and not.

She questioned what about her was so special that she was continually chosen to see a world that others could only dream about.

But as she clung to the river spirit, fingers grasping his antlers and body pressed fit to his back as he flew them toward the inevitable end, fighting so fiercely for the dream of a life, together, she realized the answers didn't matter so much as the opportunity to ask the question in the first place.

At least she had this, this moment, to even ask at all. At least this was the life she got to live.

\-----

Chapter Seventy-Two

Revelation

The revelation that they were nearing the end of the trial came quickly. No-Face's appearance was becoming more and more frequent, leading them though the labyrinthine hallways that twisted and turned in the most dizzying of ways as the maze fought to contain them within its depths.

The shadows were appearing more and more as well, sometimes just illusions, sometimes dangerously real. Forming out of nothingness they leapt at them, trying to form blockades to bar their path. Appearing with gnashing teeth, intent on maiming in their quest to halt their progress.

So close. So close. So close.

She wasn't sure how she knew, but she could feel the knot of it in her belly, the anticipation of the end. They were almost there.

And as they approached a corner with such brightness emanating from it, she saw him once more, and though his mouth didn't move, she could hear Zeniba's words whispering to her. "Follow the river to its source, he will help you. And be careful; violence will make it spread."

\-----

Chapter Seventy-Three

Sophistication

There was a sophistication about the witch Yubaba, an edge of the refined. And with that edge came one of ruthlessness. One of the drive to do whatever necessary to reach her goals.

And as she stood before them, the workers of the bathhouse flanking her as she blocked their path to freedom, Chihiro realized she was not going to let them leave without a fight. Because that wasn't within her best interest.

Kohaku touched down heavily onto the polished wood floor and it rumbled beneath his weight, creaking with strain when his tail slammed down upon it and claws leaving indentations where it fought to hold him.

The workers edged back, trying to escape the feeling of the floor wanting to cave in beneath them.

"That will be quite enough of that."Yubaba snapped, glaring at her employees until they returned to their stationary positions. " Do you know how much damage you've caused?" The witch then asked them as Chihiro slid from her dragons back, stepping forward to grab hold of his head and stroke the matted fur there.

After a short moment of lavishing affection on him and purposefully ignoring the older woman's question, Chihiro raised her eyes to face her.

"Should it really matter? Its not as if you can't magically fix it; I've seen you do it before."

\-----

Chapter Seventy-Four

Assumption

"That's not the point, you impertinent girl. The point is I was providing you with a test and you damaged my bathhouse. What will the guests think of that bloody mess?"

Chihiro could feel the anger that began boiling in her blood with every word the witch uttered, making the pulsating curse that scarred her palms to throb in time with her heartbeat. "For one, Yubaba, impertinent I may be, but I am no girl. And for two, your making the assumption that I care about having ruined your precious wallpaper. You released those... those things, those shadow monsters, to try and kill us. That was no trial, that was an attempt to be our end, merely for your petty pride."

"How dare you speak to me so!" Came the woman's shrill reply.

"I dare because you have no power anymore to do anything about it. We've bested you and now you have no choice but to release us, as shamefaced as you may be."she quipped lightly, pressing her face into Haku's lightly, fighting the adrenaline that was screaming in her blood.

"And you're making the assumption that I'm still being forced to play by the same rules."

\-----

Chapter Seventy-Five

Obligation

Chihiro was unsure if she was understanding the witch correctly; the blood pounding in her ears making it hard to focus. Her eyes kept darting to the other spirits lining the walls, taking in any means of escape while her palms itched to reach for the older woman in a overwhelming urge to cause pain that grew with each throb of her heartbeat.

Her fingers tightened in her dragon's fur as she physically tried to prevent herself from doing anything rash, remembering Zeniba's cryptic warning about violence making the curse spread. "And if the rules have changed, I would assume the game has as well. And we still beat you at it."

"You see, girl, that's where you're wrong. I had an obligation because you held a contract with me, to which now, you do not." Yubaba explained patiently, a patronizing note coloring her speech. "But him," an aged hand rose to point toward Kohaku, crooking back as she tried to pull him toward her with her magic. "He belongs to me."

Heavy claws dug into the wood with his effort to remain motionless, thick tail lashing out and knocking over anything in its path, the bath-workers included.

"I broke his contract with you."

"He made another. It was a sweet gesture really; meant to be for you. But he hasn't completed his end of the bargain."

\-----

Chapter Seventy-Six

Unification

Swallowing the bile that was threatening overturn her stomach, she spoke again, trying desperately to capture the flippant attitude she didn't at all feel. "And what do I have to do to break this one? Step on another slug? Or have you gotten more creative in your old age?"

She swore she saw the witch's eye twitch, and the knowledge gave her a perverse joy; If nothing else, she could be annoying.

"He swore to me twenty years of service in return for temporary passage into the other world. He's only completed eighteen of them. He's mine."

There was a moment of judicious cursing as Chihiro processed that bit of information, but before she could try to form any sort of coherent reply, a string of voices rose over her own.

"He can have a few days of my contract."

"I can spare a week."

"I have an extra month."

And on. And on. The unification of the people she had spent such a large chunk of her childhood with nearly bringing tears to her eyes.

And it was Lin who's voice cut though the chatter, silencing the room. "I have six months I can give him. By my count that makes him free."

\-----

Chapter Seventy-Seven

Reunion

Chihiro turned slightly to face Lin, unspoken gratitude in her eyes. Their reunion had been short lived, but was still enough to have rekindled the familial affection that had be the staple of their relationship so many years prior.

She knew the woman would always view her as a younger sibling, so the help didn't surprise her, but the amount of time did; Lin who coveted freedom more than anything else had lengthened her contract to ensure her happiness.

Receiving a soft smile in reply, Chihiro turned back toward their last obstacle.

And she was furious; hair whipping around her in a frenzy of unchecked magic, steam billowing from her nostrils as she tried to contain her fury.

It was then that a realization hit her, laughter overtaking her as she tried to voice it. "This is legal isn't it? There's nothing you can do to stop us now."

The witch was silent for a moment, looking as if she wanted to reach over throttle her, before taking a deep breath and stepping from in front of the door.

The room erupted in cheers as she slid back onto Kohaku's back and they took off into the air. "Thank you everyone; I wont forget you!"

\-----

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Supplication

The sun was glaringly bright compared to the dimly lit bathhouse, burning into her retinas and temporarily blinding her when Kohaku burst though the front gate and shot up into the sky. Carrying them high into the horizon in a spiraling twist and reveling in the freedom and fresh air that came with the completion of their trial, tasting all the sweeter with the knowledge that they had won this.

When her vision returned, the view almost took her breath away. She'd never taken the time before to simply stare at the beauty that was the Spirit World, and she regretted that now; and she'd never seen the magnificence of this site matched, and never thought she would again.

What she regretted more was the fact she had to break the silence that had overtaken them, the serenity that had come with knowing they could be at peace.

"Kohaku!" She called out, having to yell over the wind that was threatening to carry her voice off to places unknown. "Zeniba told me to follow the river up steam to its source, that the river god would help us." Supplication. That was what they needed. If indeed it would be enough to entice his favor again without another task.

But they didn't have time to wonder if it would be enough; as Haku turned to fly alongside the river, they where both keenly aware of how little they really held.

\-----

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Destination

She wasn't sure how long they had been gliding over the dry river bed, or even how far away their destination was and frankly, for the space of a second that could have been an hour long; she didn't care.

Chihiro was tired. Tired of the struggle, tired of the fear, tired of being tired. And she was determined to enjoy this single moment. Because single moments were all they had. Snap-shots like seconds that could never be reclaimed, but had the capacity to be enjoyed. If only in that moment. Temporary reprises from the uncertainty where they were only themselves for a brief moment of time.

Closing her eyes, Chihiro merely allowed herself to feel, to take in the sensations that she had been ignoring in favor of her fear.

The heavy respiration of his breathing that expanded his chest beneath her with every inhale. The silk of his mane between the sensitive pads of her fingers, tickling slightly when the breeze made it snake down the front of her top. The slight scratch against her thighs where fur faded into scales that shifted with each arching movement of his muscles.

Relaxing into her dragon, she reveled in the feeling to just being close to him, because she was unsure of how long the moment would last.

\-----

Chapter Eighty

Inhalation

The first inhalation of sweet air had her opening her eyes and lifting her head to look around curiously, unaware that she had dosed off in the first place. And in a dizzying moment, she found that they weren't moving, Haku having touched down before a small, unkempt path that lead to places unknown within a dense treeline.

For the first time in what felt like days -but was probably more like hours- they were still, and it killed her to have to slide down from her perch on his back, legs a bit wobbly from having been straddling his thick form for so long.

"So is this the place?"

When her dragon nodded, using his head to push her forward slightly, she took the hint and began traversing the old pathway.

It looked to be little more than a deer trail now, forcing her to climb over fallen trees and hold back limbs so he could pass. But thankfully it wasn't long, quickly leading into a small clearing containing a sprinkling of hot-spring pools that bubbled up with water from somewhere underground, leading out into a dozen or so small streams.

"Is this is the river's source?" She asked curiously, trying to peer though the dense fog that remained settled around the pools.

"That would be right my child. And it seems as if you both are in need of beginning."


	5. Drabbles 81-100

Chapter Eighty One  
Apprehension  
She supposed that apprehension was the logical feeling to have when a phantom voice spoke in philosophical double meanings at her, but really all she could muster was a bone weary relief.  
"Its you.” Was the only real words it seemed she could form, taking a moment for her to regain whatever brain power she seemed to be lacking. “I... The witch Zeniba said you could help us.” she finally told the empty space, watching as the hunched form of an old man slowly manifested out of the steam that surrounded them.  
“ Well that depends; do you need help?”  
She bit her lip slightly, watching as he slowly walked toward them. “Kohaku does. These... things touched him and-”  
Her speech was abruptly cut off by his reaching for her hands, his feeling somehow smooth despite the calluses and wrinkles she could plainly see. “I know what trials you faced child. I merely ask if you need the help, or if you could use it.”  
She paused for a moment, trying to determine a difference between the two.  
Finally, she spoke again. “I can't do it on my own.”  
The old man nodded softly, baring for her a toothless smile. “Then come, your friend looks like he could use a soak, and I think I know just what you can do for me in return.”

\-----

Chapter Eighty Two  
Recognition  
“You create, do you not? Create for me life, for that I will help you.” The old man told her simply, revealing to her from the fog a large flat stone surrounded on all sides by clay pots; filled with various items. Moss, water, variously colored flowers and gems.  
The recognition of her talents was flattering, but as she stared at her task and the items to which she would use in its completion, she was unsure if she really could. “Create... Life?”  
The old man nodded, leading her toward the stone with her hand placed in the crook of his elbow. “You have felt life, you have lived it, breathed it. Create it.”  
And with that he was gone, vanishing into the steam with Kohaku and leaving her to complete this trial on her own. 

\-----

Chapter Eighty Three  
Representation  
Taking a deep, steeling breath, Chihiro moved to sit before the stone, arranging the pots around her and completely unsure of how to progress. But as she dipped timid fingers into the container of red clay, curiously intent on picking up a piece, it turned to paint at her touch, covering her fingertips in thick red fluid.  
She marveled at the discovery for a moment, thrilled with her find, before again loosing herself in contemplation. Turning from her red stained fingers to stare at her canvas, she considering what it was she was to do. What she could create.  
Because really it all boiled down to one question: What was, to her, a representation of life?  
Its answers where infinite, each as beautiful and colorful as the next. Children playing in the surf, a bird twittering in a tree, a conversation over coffee, the fluttering of a butterflies wings. So many to chose from, but none good enough.  
Closing her eyes, Chihiro fought to relax, to bring herself to a meditative state. She tried to just be for a moment, and forget that she was separate from the images in her head.  
And all at once, she knew what she was going to do. 

\-----

Chapter Eighty Four  
Animation  
Bringing paint smeared fingers toward the stone, Chihiro began to try and capture the animation of movement, the thrill of life in its most natural state. Relying on the knowledge of her talent and the idea of pure imagination, she allowed herself to become lost in the act of creating.  
To stop thinking about the technical aspects of painting and just feel.  
Time seemed to stop moving around her, or didn't at all matter as she sat before the stone, fingers flying across it in movements that were far to swift for making an image of beauty, but seemed to anyway. Colors swirled and mixed and mingled as she captured more of their essence to spread across the canvas. Unaware or uncaring of the mess that seemed to cover her. Not paint, but bits of moss and clay that fell into her lap, petals that tangled in her hair, dirt that smeared her cheeks.  
“What will you call this piece, little one?” A rumbling voice asked from somewhere behind her, bringing forward an age-spotted hand to trace the outline of her masterpiece. And as those fingertips trailed across it, the outline faded, warping to fly off the canvas and spring into movement, flowing around her to touch down onto the real world and build upon itself.  
She closed her eyes and raised her face to the sky, breathing deep the smell of ozone and rain before a smile bloomed across her lips, peaceful and serene.  
“Nothing. Because life doesn't need labels to live, it only needs the opportunity.” 

\-----

Chapter Eighty Five  
Emotion  
Chihiro tried to rouse some emotion to be pleased with herself, to find a measure of pride in doing something that was supposed to be strictly within the realm of the Gods; but she could not.  
All she felt was peace. A serenity that flowed though her, leaving her languid and relaxed. A sense of being so right within her own skin that she could feel no great emotion in completing her task because she felt she was always meant to do it; it was nothing spectacular in the grand scheme of things because she has always possessed the potential.  
“Come now,” the rasping voice told her, leaning down to take her hands within his own and help her to her feet, fingers stroking over the cursed mark that marred the flawless skin. “It seems you could use a soak as well.”  
His fingertips smoothed over her palms, deceptively light. But though she could see the action, she couldn't feel his flesh; all the felt was cool water washing over her hands, erasing the stain from them as she watched in awe. Leaving only the faintest scars as a reminder of her ordeal.  
“Your dragon is relaxing in one of the far pools, you should go join him; he misses you.”  
And with that he was gone again, fading into steam and leaving her alone in the space, surrounded by the image she had created.

\-----

Chapter Eighty Six  
Perception  
She stood there for merely a moment, internalizing the image of the place; a wonderland of color and texture and life, before turning to find her dragon.  
This world had changed her perception of reality, making her physically have to fight to remove herself from it; because she never wanted too. It was such a sweet temptation to just sit there and marvel at the beauty of this plain, but she knew she could not remain there; she had won for herself a chance at a life, and she would not turn her back on it even for the magnificence that surrounded her.  
And as she approached the pool that contained him, her vision shifted. And she could not tell if it was a dragon or a man waiting for her within the water.  
“You returned. I did not know if you would.” Came his lyrical voice that floated out of steam, awe tinting his notes. “You where lost in the god-world for days completing his task; I was afraid I had lost you to him.”  
She shook her head softly as she stepped into the overheated water, heedless of her clothing and retraining herself from leaping into his arms in favor of curling up against his side, feeling peaceful and sleepy. His arms came around her, pulling her closer and tightening about her waist in an possessive action that spoke of his uncertainty.  
“Of course I came back; I'm only mortal after all.”

\-----

Chapter Eighty Seven  
Veneration  
After a time, Kohaku spoke again, shifting ever so slightly so as to smooth anxious hands against her sides, fingertips trailing against the smooth strip of skin exposed by the movement of her shirt within the water. “Do you know that gods hold a veneration for mortals that rivals even your own for us? That is why I feared as to your return to me; he held you within his grasp, and like any being with his desire before him... There was a chance he could have grabbed hold of you with both hands and never let you go.”  
She shook her head in denial, wet strands sticking to her cheek and his bared chest. “No. I only came at all to reclaim you; it would have been cruel to trap me here. He's not a cruel god.”  
Her dragon leaned forward to rub his cheek along her own, noses brushing as a contented purr rumbling though his chest. “How naive you are, my sweet Chihiro. All gods can be cruel; you would never have realized that you were in his grasp, never even noticed the passage of time. You would merely have gone on painting life for all of eternity.”  
Their lips brushed with a pass, and Chihiro fought to keep herself from melting into him. “If he wanted me so bad, then why did he release me?”  
“Because he knows that the caged bird does not sing as prettily.”

\-----

Chapter Eighty Eight  
Adoration  
Something about the way her dragon held fast to her spoke of restraint; of the overwhelming urge for something he was holding back from. “And he, like any being, would prefer to hear the most beautiful song possible. Even if that means that they must let the bird sing from its branch and watch it from afar.”  
Fingers tightened on her waist, and she could feel the prickle of claws though the thin fabric that floated around them in the current, and the purr that was rumbling though him shifted into something slightly darker, slightly more dangerous. “I would claim you now to let them all know of who you belonged too, had I the strength left to do so.”  
She was hazy, staring at him though the steam, and the clawed hand that had strayed down to grasp her bared thigh was infinitely distracting as it played across her skin. Dangerous and distracting and oh so very welcome as claws lightly scratched at her skin in a caress that spoke of violence and passion, adoration and want. But even with it his words registered.  
“Had you the strength?”  
Kohaku nodded solemnly, eyes closing as he fought to grasp some measure of control. “The curse his waters cured, but the weakness still remains; I'll not recover fully until submerged within my own waters. I am only half a god for you, Chihiro, until I can win against the Cove for your hand.”

\-----

Chapter Eighty Nine  
Devotion  
Only after a long moment of merely relaxing into his embrace did she speak, softly and slow. “Then we should hurry and return to the human world. I want for us to go home.”  
She felt the movement more than she viewed it when he nodded in acceptance. “Come then,” he told her, rising elegantly from the water, seemingly just as dry as he was upon his entrance to it. “And let us attempt to pass whatever test your Cove has set for us. I shall not disappoint you, my little Chihiro.”  
She accepted his outstretched hand without hesitation and allowed him to help her to her feet in a movement that was infinity less elegant than his own as water poured from her sodden clothes. “Yes,” she told him with laughter in her voice, and when he smiled in return, the devotion in his gaze was easily recognizable. “Lets go home.”  
With that he was sweeping her up into his arms with the barest of ease and stepping out of the pool, heedless to the fact she was getting his clothing wet when even a soak could not, and walking with her out of the magical place that had trapped them for far too long.

\-----

Chapter Ninety  
Position  
The sun was in the same position in the sky as it had been when they stepped foot into the god-realm, but for some reason, Chihiro got the feeling that they had been there far longer than either of them had assumed.  
“The Cove gave me a warning before I set out to find you.” She began. “He told me: 'you must always remember; return from the same place you entered. Or you might get spirited away again.'”  
Her dragon nodded, holding onto her hand and sweeping her into and out of his arms as she delicately leapt across the river stones, carefully picking her way down and across the mostly dried bed with him. And he seemed so much... lighter than she had ever seen him. As if for the first time in their acquaintance, he was really and truly happy.  
“Wise words indeed, and you would be wiser to heed them. The Spirit World is a dangerous place, and you must always know where you are going, or you may never make it there.”  
“Really?” she asked curiously. “I thought the gates where like doorways; You walk through one and you end up in the same place every time.”  
He laughed at that, throwing his head back in a moment of pure exuberance. “My naïve little Chihiro, magic doesn't work in such linear forms; magic is swirls and corkscrews and circles and other such shapes you have no name for. Your Cove probably, -as we had upon your last visit- enchanted your gateway to return you home; our doorways never take you to the same place twice. they could just as easily take you to some unknown realm as the mortal world.”

\-----

Chapter Ninety One  
Recreation  
Somehow, it faintly felt to Chihiro like a recreation of their parting when they reached the pass to cross into the train station.  
Only it wasn't.  
She wasn't turning from the magic to follow her parents back into her own world, and her fingers didn't slip through his in goodbye.  
His fingers were firmly intertwined with her own as they raced down the steps and jumped from stone to stone each just as eager pass into the human world. Laughing and smiling. Deliriously happy to just be together.  
And as they reached the archway, she turned to look back one final time. “You know, this is where we said goodbye the last time.” she told him, a nostalgic smile touching her lips.  
“No.” he told her softly, shaking his head as if to add emphasis to his declaration. “We didn't say goodbye; goodbye's are forever, my sweet, and I knew we'd see each other again. It was merely a 'see you later'.”

\-----

Chapter Ninety Two  
Avocation  
It was an avocation of his, a hobby if you will, to count each step to took to reach someplace that he was going. But only when the destination was important.  
It was Four-Hundred Twenty-Three steps from the entrance to the boiler-room to the pen her parents were housed in all those years ago.  
Three-Hundred Sixty-Seven from the bathhouse's bridge to the the steps of the riverbed.  
Two Hundred Ninety-One from his dormitory to Yubaba's sitting room.  
One-Hundred Fifty from his room to her old one; Thirty-Two if he flew.  
And It had taken Twenty-Eight steps for Chihiro to disappear into the darkness of the archway on that last day.  
This time though, he wasn't going to just sit there and watch her go. This time, he was going with her.  
Breathing deeply and squeezing the hand that was held so very tightly in his own, she smiled up at him, and they turned to that darkened train station, taking their first steps into forever. Together. 

\-----

Chapter Ninety Three  
Exhilaration  
There was an exhilaration that came with the knowledge that they were close enough to taste their freedom.  
She had returned her grandmother's necklace to The Nameless and in doing so won them a chance at a home. She had crossed though worlds to find him and together they had bested Yubaba's maze and traveled to the home of the River god, healing Kohaku's curse and completing his own task in return.  
All that was left was for her dragon to prove himself to The Cove, and win the lake for his own. After that they could have their happily ever after, and the idea of it was intoxicating.  
Truthfully, she didn't know how long the bliss would last; she was no fool, and therefor knew he would live as long as the lake was there for him to protect. She on the other hand was a mere mortal; he would outlive her by millenia. The thought was disheartening, but she refused to dwell on it.  
They had this moment, this single moment, to enjoy the fact that life had thrown them together. And they would find a way.  
Out of what could have been to her knowledge thin air, Chihiro was swept off her feet and into the arm's of her dragon as he took off into the air on a westward current, letting the swirling of the wind carry them through the sky.  
The rush ripped an excited gasp from her throat, and she could feel his chest rumbling with laughter.  
“You worry too much, my little Chihiro.”

\-----

Chapter Ninety Four  
Reaction  
Chihiro had considered many reactions her dragon could have had to viewing the human side of the gate after so long. Fear, reservation, neutrality, disdain.  
She should have seen coming that he would surprise her though; he always did.  
She'd not expected the pure and unadulterated joy that had overtaken him when they took off into the sky. Maybe... for the first time since her appearance, he really felt as if it were all real. Attainable. Not just a bittersweet dream he was to wake from at any moment.  
“You'll love where home is.” She told him, reclining her head to rest against his shoulder. “Keep going west until you see the line of the horizon fading into mirrored water. Then ride along where the sand meets the water until you come upon a house built atop the cliff face, the only one for miles. That's home.”  
“I can feel it.” he whispered to her over the roar of the wind, lips nuzzling her throat as he brushed through her hair away to speak directly into her ear. “The call of the unclaimed. I have had and lost my domain, so it doesn't sing as strongly, but I can feel it reverberating through me.”

\-----

Chapter Ninety Five  
Preoccupation  
Some might have been mistaken in thinking that Kohaku's silence as they flew through the mid-morning light was preoccupation. But Chihiro knew better.  
Beneath the silence was an utter fascination. He was so focused on that very moment, on committing to memory every aspect of it, they he refused to clutter it with words.  
He was memorizing the feeling of holding her, of the solid weight of her in his arms, of the pressure on his shoulder where her head rested, of the tightening of the fabric against his chest when her fingers tangled in it. He was cataloging all of it in the back of his mind so that if nothing else, if they didn't succeed in this final task, that he would have the memory of holding her to keep with him.  
And when they finally touched down on the grassy cliff, he was hesitant to let her go. Maybe he was afraid he'd never get the opportunity again.  
"Welcome home, Little one. The land has missed you in your absence, and the spirits grew restless in waiting for your return.”

\-----

Chapter Ninety Six  
Action  
Chihiro knelt down to face the child-god and he took her hands in his own, wrapping fingers around the longer appendages and coming forward in an action she never expected; pressing his lips to the mark of the curse that marred her palms. “You have held death in your palms and walked away intact. It is not a scar, but a trophy, and you should wear it proudly. Your triumphs are your strength.”  
And when he spoke again, there was pride in his voice, lips brushing the tip of her nose when he whispered to her his praise. “I almost allowed myself to think that you had failed, little one. I should have known better; you are magic-touched after all. A spirit in human form.” he then leaned forward to press his forehead into hers, cradling their hands against his chest for a moment before releasing her once more into her dragons arms.  
Haku helped her back to her full height, a hand splayed possessively against her hip in an action that spoke of his unease around the one other being that could voice a claim on her soul.  
“You have brought me a battle scarred dragon, how fearsome.” The boy then stepped up onto the very air, leaning back and allowing the breeze to carry him closer to the edge of the cliff, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “When you feel yourself ready, young dragonling, come to the mouth of the cave, from there you will be given three days in which to familiarize yourself with it's water. And on the dawn of the fourth day, your final test shall begin. Prepare yourself.”

\-----

Chapter Ninety Seven  
Decoration  
The mark of the curse that spiraled and twisted across his torso was more of a decoration than a marring. A shade darker than the rest of his flesh; it looked to be a subtle tattoo really, rather than proof of their ordeal. A memory burned into his very being.  
Battle scarred, indeed.  
Chihiro mused over the difference as she painted thin lines of purple across his skin; darkening the patterns so as to be able to follow them easier with her eyes. The loss of perfection. The gaining of something more.  
“And here I thought you had painted my likeness enough times to be without need of a reference.” Her dragon teased though he made no movement to remove himself from his position on the couch.  
“Mmm, a younger you. I have the lines of a child memorized, but I've never painted you as a man, you know.” she murmured offhandedly, more than a little distracted by her task. “You think you'd remember that this is the first time we've been reunited in eighteen years.” she continued on then, bringing her paintbrush up and over one toned bicep and back around his forearm. “Why did you age when the others didn't? Do you have control over your shape; the ability to alter your image however you see fit?”  
“A god may change his form and name… but a god will always be a god; he cannot make himself less than he is.” And the look in his eyes told her of what he was really warning her of.  
Sometimes she forgot that all Rivers flow to the Ocean, and that they were two sides of the same coin.

\-----

Chapter Ninety Eight  
Gratification  
Her dragon didn't immediately go to begin his test, choosing instead to remain with her in the house above the waves for a time. Maybe he was afraid, or maybe merely enjoying the chance at time.  
There was a since of gratification that came with it; untouched days of peace and blissful moments of getting to know the man and not just the river, that rolled into afternoons of creation and laughter and barely constrained passion.  
He acted as if a male on the make; still too injured to take up the offer, but strong enough to be interested. And it made for some amusing evenings as they sat out on the cliff, watching the waves crashing against the walls of the cove. Because he certainly was interested.  
“You say that you swim through his waters often.”  
She turned slightly, though only just enough to view him out of the corner of her eye; should she have faced him any more fully, she would have been overcome by the urge to paint him again. “That's right. I come to visit The Nameless everyday, for at least a few minutes.”  
He was quiet for a time, before his curiosity consumed him and he finally asked what he had been leading to. “Then why isn't there a swimsuit hidden amongst your things? I was under the assumption it is what mortals wear when going out into the water.” Ah. The heart of the matter. Male.  
“Gods have no need for modesty.” she told him, a smile tilting her lips in a way that seems to make his eyes focus on her more fully.  
It was always strange to have those eyes pinned to her; to have garnered his absolute attention. And this time he was giving her that look. The one she had seen a hundred times before on all the men that had walked through her life. But for some reason, when he turned it in her direction, she couldn't seem to quell the urge to take him in more fully. To return it.  
“You will only swim in my lake as such.”  
Her laughter filled the twilight. 

\-----

Chapter Ninety Nine  
Resignation  
When Chihiro awoke, it was a day just like any other. The sun was shining no brighter than the day before, and there was not a cloud in the sky. The wind did not howl through the trees, nor did crows caw an ominous warning as she opened her eyes, but there was indeed something amiss. She could feel it.  
“Kohaku?” There was no reply, of course. She didn’t expect one. Not with the feeling clawing at her chest. And it was that feeling that spurred her into rising, into searching for him.  
Her dragon was sitting on the edge cliff when she finally came upon him, staring out at the sunrise as if he would never see another. “Kohaku?”  
“It’s time.” He told her, a sort of Resignation in his words.  
“Is it?” she asked just as softly as she seated herself beside him, allowing her bared legs to dangle over the abyss below them. The waves hidden within the cove were untouched by the light of morning, and looking almost as if a black hole undulating just out of reach.  
He offered her a sad smile and held up a hand, as if reaching for hers, and when she tried to place her fingers upon his own, they passed right though the translucent flesh.  
“It’s time.”

\-----

Chapter One Hundred  
Sensation  
They stood together, side by side in front of the mouth of the cave. Wishing to be able to touch one last time, but knowing it was for not.  
She took a deep, shuddering breath and before looking up to the translucent figure of her dragon who said not a word of goodbye, but merely pressed his lips to her forehead, -even though he knew she could not feel him- and walked off into the darkness.  
Chihiro wrapped arms around herself to fend off the chill of the wind as she watched him descend into the domain of the lake, slowly fading from view with all the strength and bravery she had come to know him for.  
“Be safe.”  
He didn’t look back, but he didn’t need to. Because just like the time before, this was not a sensation of goodbye. Not really. It was just an ‘I’ll see you later’.


	6. Drabbles 101-116

Chapter One Hundred One  
Pulsation  
As she laid there in the dark, Chihiro could feel this pulsation in her flesh. Like a heartbeat that wasn’t her own, speeding up and slowing down, shifting and pulling and pumping. Making her own heart thrum in time, flooding her with adrenaline and excitement she didn’t actually feel.   
She knew it was her dragons’ doing; she was feeling _his_ heartbeat; just beneath the surface of her skin. Keeping her awake in the long hours were time existed for only one of them, and he was experiencing something he never thought to be able to again.   
And as she turned her head to face her window, she felt another pulling; this time belonging to her Cove. Beckoning her to come to him, into the dark waters of his domain.   
She didn’t attempt to fight his call, instead rising to her feet and following the feeling of his magic out of her home and onto the cliff where he was waiting for her.   
“Come now, Little one, I think you should watch the coming of morning from a different angle. And I know just the place, where the view is magnificent.”  
He extended a hand to her, and she weaved fingers through his own without a moment of hesitation. 

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Two  
Domination   
Chihiro could hardly voice her wonderment as her cove had lead her down into the depths of the lake, their path lit by spinning and wheeling trials of blue fire as they walked atop the surface of the water.   
And every so often as they traveled deeper and deeper into the cavern, she would catch a barely there glimmer of blue light reflecting off silvery scales, or a shadow on the water, and knew that it was Kohaku. Patrolling the depths of his waters.   
Noticing her reaction, her Cove smiled, patting her hand that was grasped so very firmly in his own. “He cannot see us, Little Chihiro. He may be mastering the waters, but he has no grasp yet of the air above them.”  
“Mastering? You mean that he doesn’t just… control it?”  
The Nameless laughed at that, throwing his head back in a gesture of pure amusement. “Of course it is not as easy as all that. Even I, as a god of my domain, do not render the oceans creatures without the will to challenge me, and I have presided over these waters for centuries. He is but a young dragonling still, and so his subjects will not submit to his hold without a fight. He must force his domination.”  
“So there are more things down here then just little glowing fish?” she asked dubiously, eyeing the waters beneath her feet with blant suspicion.   
“Oh yes,” he replied, the smile tilting at his lips making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on their ends. “There are indeed more dangers to these untamed waters than those of my own, as mine both fear and respect the power I hold, where as he has yet to prove himself.”  
“But it looks so peaceful here.”  
“Take that as a warning. I wouldn’t go swimming anytime soon if I were you.”

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Three  
Dedication  
Her Cove had lead her to an opulent shrine house, built into the deepest part of the cavern. Its boards were sanded to perfection, and painted with a cherry lacquer that seemed to glow in the dim light, making the image of the small building all the more surreal.  
“How did you make this?” she asked softly, running gentle fingertips over the wood. “I thought you couldn’t touch things not of the earth and waves.”  
“Do not question gifts, merely enjoy them.” He motioned for her to sit at the waters edge then, swirling fingertips in the calm water and beckoning her forward to watch the ripples.  
“This will allow you to view that which you would not be able to see before. A mirror into a world you may never view again. This is your last chance to turn back, little one. Will you take it?”  
She shook her head firmly, sending strands of hair flying about her face. “No. It doesn’t matter what happens, as long as we know we tried. We’ve come this far, my nameless one, and I won’t turn back now.”  
He tilted his head at that, fixing her with a gaze that no child could ever have held, though the curiosity in his every motion was palatable. “Why? Why do you risk so much for his love, when you could have any you chose?”  
“Dedication.” She answered simply, and a softer smile curled up his lips at the word.   
“What a magnificent creature you are, my sweet little Chihiro.” He whispered to her in his childlike voice, leaning forward to press lips to her forehead. 

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Four  
Fascination  
“You are so very like my lost one, my Yumi. You are both so brave, so unflinchingly loyal. Should he fail you, maybe I will grant your soul a home in my waters, it would be nice to swim with you forever. You could fill my waves with your picture painted into the sea foam, and sate my fascination with all things terrestrial.”  
She sighed at that, bringing her hand up to curl into his sea foam hair and pull his head forward to rest on her shoulder.   
“Taking me won’t bring her back, nor will it make me be her, as much as you wish it would. Her soul sleeps, as mine one day will.” she told him in a fierce whisper. “I have held a love so brilliant I should never find another like it. And so if it is destined that I shall pass on with the failing of this trial, then I won’t wander the world as a ghost. I have it here,” she pressed fingertips to the child-god’s chest. “In my heart, and so I won’t forever be searching for in the half-realm of the lost.”  
“I could claim you if I wished, descendant of Yumi. People still offer maidens to the waves as a gift to calm the dragon.” He murmured, almost petulant, and she couldn’t help but smile at the tone.  
“You know you can’t keep me, but I will _always_ think of you as my grandfather.”  
She felt what seemed to be tears on the fabric of her shirt for a moment, before he pulled back, his face unreadable again. “I know.” He replied, if not sadly, standing again and stepping back to stand upon the rippling surface of the water. “Such a wise human you are. I think in the next life, your soul will be a spirit again, unhindered by mortal flesh. You have certainly earned it, with the trials you have endured in this one.”   
And with that he was gone, fading into a mist that dusted the formations around her and turning them into a glittering lightshow all around her. 

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Five  
Anticipation  
As she sat before the shrine house, looking over the dark world her Dragon now fought for, Chihiro couldn’t quell the rush of anticipation; the excitement for him to find her there waiting, -she was not the end of his trial, but she was part of the prize- and that anticipation was what had her swirling fingers through the water by her feet, letting the ripples form for her the barely there image of the outside world.   
They shifted quickly at first, the scenes, almost as if she where looking at the reflection of a movie on the surface of the water, and she was enraptured by all that they showed her.   
Fantastical landscapes in whimsical colors she had no name for that could only have immerged from the god-world. Creatures she’d only seen in her dreams, and nightmares, given shape and form in some distant realm that she felt both thanks and regret that she could not traverse as the cavern filled with the echoed sounds of there calls.   
Then came visions of a family she’d not seen in far too long, because of the strain her differences had put on their relationship, laughing at kitchen table and chatting over breakfast; looking by all rights content in their normalcy –before the pictures shifted once more.   
And she was looking at the Cove as he stood before the mouth of the cave, greeting Haku as he stepped into the morning light.   
“Welcome to the dawn of the fourth day, young dragonling. Here is where your final trial begins.”

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Six  
Inundation  
“Of all the trials you and yours have faced since beginning this journey, young dragonling, this will be the most momentous. All will be for not, if you cannot best _yourself_.”  
A head cocked to the side, dark hair rippling about his shoulders in the ever-present breeze that lived along the shoreline. “Is that the hint you have chosen to present me with? That I must best myself?” he asked, tensing slightly.  
The child god laughed, pupal-less black eyes brightening slightly with the sort of glee that she had only ever witnessed in the other-worldly ones. The kind of glee that touches on dark amusement. The kind of glee that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.  
“Of a sort. _Inundation_ is your real hint. Hint and trial and triumph. If you are strong enough to claim it. Should you _not_ , though, your suffering will not just be your own.”  
“Inundation?”  
“Flood waters, little river. Flood waters that consume all in their path.”  
Eyes widened, feet began to move, hair whipping around as he spun from his place facing The Nameless, to enter the cavern, and face their final trial. 

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Seven   
Ablution   
Something about the tone of the child god had almost scared her, as Chihiro brushed the image away from the surface of the water with a rolling of her fingertips. Something about the way he spoke, and the words he weaved for her Dragon, -meaning hidden deep in riddles and omissions- held some dark edge to them that made her look more closely at the shadows that licked at the edges of her vision.   
Because for the first time in a very long time, Chihiro wasn't completely sure she'd make it out alive. As she brushed a strand of dark hair over her shoulder, turning nervously toward the shrine at her back to grab hold of one of the bowls placed so perfectly within it; She wasn't sure she was supposed to.  
She took a deep breath, as she turned back around to dip the bowl gently in the water; trying to calm herself with the art of ablution.  
The way The Nameless one had looked at her, -with such timeless sadness- when he left her to the darkness of the cavern. _I think in the next life, your soul will be a spirit again, unhindered by mortal flesh._  
His voice, teasing with a dark mischief that had only been witnessed in the volatile forms of child-gods; informing Kohaku of what was to occur should he loose. _Should you not, though, your suffering will not just be your own._  
The Cove had come as close as any god ever had to begging; so that she would not see this through.  
The woman shuddered softly, eyes clamping shut to fend off tears when she realized of just what was necessary for Kohaku to claim this place.  
She was not meant to survive this trial. 

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Eight  
Libation  
Chihiro turned her back on the cave as she placed the sacred _just so_ within the borders of the shrine, staring at her final offering rather than the fate that had claimed her as it's own, rubbing up against her legs like a cat vying for it's masters acceptance of it's fickle nature.   
She could hear the rumbling of deep-water currents, shifting restlessly in the darkness at her back, growing stronger as she reached for the vase by the side of the shrine offering, feeling the weight of it.  
And she spared not a glance to the thrashing waters that were licking at her feet, before pouring the sweet wine into the bowl in an act of Libation.   
Because it was a ritual of remembrance for those who were lost. And she soon would be. Even with the roars of her Dragon echoing through the cavern toward her, telling her that he was coming; She would soon be lost.   
Chihiro Ogino turned back to the chaotic waters of the lake one last time, offering held tightly in her hands, and leaned forward to pour it into the depths, before straightening to her full height and leaping forward to let herself be consumed by waves as well. Sinking down while trails of sweet wine swirled around her to be lost by the impenetrable blackness below her.  
Because it takes bravery to go after what you want. Even when that means you may not make it back to where you were before. 

\-----  
Chapter One Hundred Nine  
Endymion  
There was a sort of irony that came with sinking into the depths of the untamed lake and letting the thrashing waters consume her. Because she'd done this before. More times than she could count. And she had the bravery to see this through.  
Her personal rebellion against life was now meant to end it. Because for Kohaku to prove that he was indeed worthy, she had to die. Die, and have life breathed back into her.   
It was oddly fitting really, that the one thing she had trusted to the hands of the nameless cove -her life- was now the one thing he needed her to give away. Because the guardian of this place needed to have life in him. A fierce passion in his soul, because he would have to give life and take it away with the same waving of his hand.  
And no mere spirit could do that.   
So when the burning of her lungs became overwhelming, she opened her eyes. And the image of the world she had flung herself into was amazing. Glowing and strange and swirling around her in curiosity of the newness she represented.   
And as the last of the air finally spilled from her lungs, creating bubbles around her that rose almost peacefully to the surface she refused to let her panicking muscles spur her toward, she saw him. Twisting his way through the waters toward her; shimmering silver and glowing just as brightly as the life that followed him.  
Her world darkened to points, focusing on him and blurring about the edges, becoming so much sharper before there was nothing less. And her final thought was that he looked like Endymion, bringing the light of the moon to her one final time.

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Ten  
Hallucination  
It was an oddly peaceful feeling, floating along in the air currents. Chihiro was no longer sinking to her demise in the chilled water; she was dancing in an empty white room of potential. Of endings and beginnings and where there was no such thing as sorrow any longer.  
There was no such thing as hurt in this god world. There was no such thing as longing.   
Maybe it was a hallucination, but there was only a mirror to a world she was no longer a part of, and the soft lullaby of an old antique music box, soothing her soul to sleeping.   
And part of her ached to close her eyes; to let that lullaby take her over and allow her glorious rest as she was carried off by the breeze to who knows where. But there were still the traces of curiosity lingering at the edges of her consciousness, forcing her to dance her way toward that mirror.   
Placing hands against the worn, wooden frame to steady herself against it as they slowly twisted in this existence without gravity, she looked through it; at the reflection that was not of the shimmering whiteness around her, but of glowing darkness and a cacophony of movement that seemed so disjointed from _here_.   
And the image before her was like a movie, rather than her own form, sinking slowly further into the uncharted waters.   
Her dragon was swimming around her in loose coils of fur and scales, urging her unmoving form toward the surface, but she couldn't bring herself to weep over the look in his eyes. All she could do was watch in fixation at the scene playing out in-front of her that shifted angles with her mirrors spinning.   
But then something changed. The angle shifted so that she was looking at him as if she were still her, as if he could see her. And he spoke. Though not with words, he had no words in the that form, but still he spoke.  
 _Come back to me._  
Chihiro couldn't help but to look curiously at her dragon. He was talking to her. But not the version of herself that was lifeless in his waters. He was talking to _her._  
 _Come back to me._  
So she pressed fingertips against the cool glass as if in a mockery of a caress, and it's surface rippled beneath her flesh, giving way for the barest of moments, before the world around her was in chaos; the whiteness of the god-world being flooded as freezing, black water poured though the mirror to consume her.  
And suddenly she couldn't breath. 

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Eleven  
Implication  
There was this tingling since of anticipation flowing through her as Kohaku urged her into movement, letting her grab hold of his scales so he could tow her to the surface as if he hadn't even considered doubting his ability to call her soul back to him.   
Something big that was to come of this, more than their victory, though she knew not what as her head broke the surface, and she tried to take a few shuddering, gasping breaths that never made it to her lungs as she coughed and dry heaved in the churning waters.   
But before she actually had the opportunity to panic, there were hands before her. Grabbing her about the waist to haul her closer to a warm body, touching her lips and pulling back, and it was as if he were pulling the water up and out of her lungs.   
She could feel the strangest sensation, almost burning, as the chilled water moved up her throat, and blurring eyes slowly began to focus on the man who was holding her head above the water as she took her first breaths as one of the living once more.  
Chihiro was unsure she remembered how to speak as trembling hands brushed her sopping hair out of her face, so Kohaku spoke for her, his forehead coming forward to rest against hers. “We've done it.” he told her, voice breathless from excitement. “We've won.”  
She reveled in the brief moment of victory, her arms looping around him as his did to her, embracing the moment as much at the man.   
But it couldn't last.  
“You brought me back to life.” her tone was sobering, as if she were just aware of the implications of what had come to pass. “I didn't know a spirit was powerful enough to do that.”   
“A spirit could not have stolen you back from the edge of death. But a god could.” A voice rang out from above them, pleased and proud.

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Twelve  
Obsession  
Chihio looked between the dragon in her arms and the ocean god above their heads in a mixture of shock and elation.   
“A... A god?” She asked, fingertips smoothing over his angular cheekbones, and watching as he arched into the soft caress, eyes becoming slits as he gazed back upon her sodden form like she were the only person left in the world.   
“For you, I can achieve _anything_ ; I can ascend into the form of a god if that is that it takes to claim what is mine.” Kohaku replied with finality, the obsession in his tone fading slightly to morph somewhere along the line into a declaration of his love, spoken in such low tones that she felt the rumblings of his chest in the chilled water more than she heard it. “For a chance at you, I would bend time and steal your soul back from the very hands of death. For you I would rip apart the fabric of the worlds and bring forth the very essence of the universe so you could swim though nebulae and explore the outer reaches of the galaxies, if you so asked me too.”  
And from above them, the cove smiled softly, dancing backward a few steps on-top of the churning waters, letting the waves carry him up and down for a long, slow moment before speaking.   
“You have done well my children; I cannot express into words how very proud of you both I am.” he told them softly, though his voice echoed through the cavern like the sharp tinkling of wind-chimes. “But there is one last thing that must be done before you both may rest and revel in the elation of your victory.”  
And he waited until their eyes rose to meet his, laughter in his voice at the venomous look in her dragons gaze.   
“You must close the door I opened, and create one for yourselves. A real gateway into your realm.” 

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Thirteen  
Admiration   
“The door I created was a temporary access point, you see.” The Nameless Cove God told the half-submerged couple rather conversationally. “Meant to merely make this task easier to complete. But I am no longer caretaker of this realm; _you_ are, young dragonling. And so it is for you to do. Call it a... welcome home gift.”  
Chihiro couldn't stop the laughter that was bubbling up in her throat. They started out as a soft tittering of giggles that quickly rose in volume from a chortle, to a howl, and into guffaws that made her chest shake and her body curl upon itself in her amusement.   
There was admiration in her Cove's eyes as he looked down fondly at the little mortal wrapped securely in the arms of the now Dragon 'God', even when she began to sober, though the delighted, tired smile never left her lips.  
“A new doorway, huh? Any idea where a good spot would be?” she asked conversationally, one hand coming up from the waves to pluck at the straps of the boy-god's sandals.   
“Well,” he told them, lifting thin arms into the air with a boyish grin of pleasure. “Customarily, a cavernous lake is discovered by the roof caving in.”

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Fourteen  
Compensation  
Kohaku helped her over to the rocky ledge the shrine house was perched atop of, stepping up out of the water as if were a solid expanse; his form as dry as it had been the last time she'd seen him, in obvious counterpoint to her own shabby appearance.   
She was in the presence of gods: Ethereal creatures who's true forms were too beautiful for mortal eyes. And yet they gazed at her in waiting, as if she were the one who'd weaved the moon and stars together from her sodden pajamas with the little dancing cartoon cows emblazoned upon the legs.   
Part of her wished she looked more the part, compensation for all the mistakes she'd made along the way; the beautiful mortal maiden who was to capture the heart of the spirits, like in all the movies. But instead, she was just... Chihiro. And she couldn't really bring herself to care; because this was her story. And nothing could change the way in which it had been written now. Maybe some high god, some great nameless form, had found it funny to watch the little redeemed girl walk among the spirits again to win her future, but then, maybe they had planned it all along. Down to her her pajamas and the way the water dripped from her tangled hair in unruly streams.   
Not beautiful, but real. And ready or her adventure to come to an end.  
“I was waiting for you two. The _Lake_ was waiting for you two; for you to be ready to take up this mantle. The cavern ceiling is ready to come down; it has been for a very long time now. You just need to release it and let the sunlight shine on untouched waters, Kohaku. All that is left is for you to tell the world that you are home.”

\-----

Chapter One Hundred Fifteen   
Attraction  
Chihiro watched him at the water's edge, feeling it lap over her toes as the Cove god faded off into the shadows of the cave, and Kohaku stepped toward her, though not close enough to touch, beckoning to her with a lazy smile and a crooked finger.  
“I want you to stand beside me as I claim our home.”  
She laughed ruefully at that. “You forget I'm just a mortal, Kohaku; I can't walk on water.”  
He beckoned to her again. “Yes you can.”  
So she stepped forward and once again felt the strange sensation of water shifting and flowing between her toes, though, she did not sink into it, before all there was, was the warmth of her Dragons embrace, and the thunder-boom of rock dislodging from above their heads to crash into the water below.   
After a second that could have been an hour long, Chihiro felt warm sunlight on her cheeks.   
And when she opened her eyes to look in wonderment, lips halted hers before they could speak, silencing her with a fierce and tender attraction that she couldn't bring herself to end.  
So she let her hand snake up into the collar of his kimono to rest over his heart. And as her curious fingertips touched down on the silk that was his skin, his hand came up, jerking a tie, pulling at a piece of fabric, and suddenly she could longer just feel the expanse of his chest but see it.   
And his lips where parting from hers in a panting for breath, his forehead resting in her hair.   
“Welcome home, my love.”

\----

Chapter One Hundred Sixteen  
Incarnation  
There was something oddly peaceful, and yet wonderfully exhilarating, about running along the cliff trail with a gaggle of children at her heels, waving to her little cove god who was swimming amongst the waves as they passed.   
“This way! This way!” She called to the amassing, turning sharply in the trees not far from her home; her own peaked roof within view.   
There was nothing really to mark the spot in which they had opened the gateway, except a whoop of joy that ripped its way from her throat at the sight of it.  
And then they were leaping in-mass. Flying though the air and past the edge of land, down through the belly of the earth to land in the crisp, transparent waters of the lake; drawing screeching laughter from all of their throats at the chill.   
An elderly couple were slowly coming down the rope ladder along the wall, and they smiled at the sight of the children, even as Chihiro swam toward the water's edge to lean forward at the foot of the shrine house and clap her hands together in a rueful prayer. She could feel smooth scales brush against her calf, even as fur tickled her toes, and she smiled, known he was watching over them all.  
It was a beautiful sight, his shrine; perfectly carved wood covered in a bright cherry lacquer and adorned with offerings, and gifts, and children's toys.   
“I know you can hear me, my great, joyful dragon.” she whispered, smiling so hard her cheeks began to hurt when she felt him nip at her kneecap. “So may this incarnation of your name, Kohaku Lake, bring as much happiness as the last did, and may our waters remain peaceful and welcoming for a thousand years and more. A thousand plus a thousand. I love you.”   
Her last word came out more of a squawk as three pairs of thin arms grabbed at her and pulled her back down into the waters with them.   
“You better watch out!” She told the children who were now trying to frantically swim from arms reach, turning to grab for them in mock anger. “I'm coming to get you!”  
And as Chihiro scooped up a little girl in her arms, diving under the water with her, she could see her dragon, looking peaceful and so at home as he lounged against a jutting outcrop of rock deep below her in their pool.   
And for the first time in a long time, Chihiro was at peace. Their world was at peace, and the the great adventure was finally over; to be replaced with a grander one: finally living.

_The end._


End file.
